Broken Memories
by MedoriGalori
Summary: Sebastian has lived a poor broken life in Victorian London, one day he saves a rich boy from sudden death gaining him a job as the boys servent but what will Sebastian do when he slowly falls in love with the boy named Ciel and finds out the boy is deathly ill and dying. (CIEL X SEBASTIAN
1. Chapter 1: Fateful meeting

Hello everyone,

My name is Xiaoyu, and nope I dont own kuroshitsuji or any of the characters. All rights go to Yana Toboso.

Anyways this story will be a continuation of my story Dark Dreams but its written to where you can read this one first or second. However if you read Dark Dreams first you will know why in this story Sebastian feels like he already knows Ciel and a little about this story since Sebastian was shown visions of this life in Dark Dreams.

Anyways like i said it doesnt matter which one you read first.

Enjoy!

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Its a stange thing, when a human dies. Suddeny the world becomes dark, there is this presence of gloom that only death himself can bring. These were the thoughts that passed through Sebastian's head as he watched a boy he worked with being dragged out of the room where they all slept. He didnt know the boy but he saw him everyday working in the factory. Sebastian guessed the boy was about the age of ten maybe a little older and although people from the factory died everyday Sebastian would be lying if he said he had grown numb to it. He was now in his mid-twentys and he himself was surprised he was still alive with the life style he lived. Most children that lived the same never made it passed thirteen.

Sebastian was lucky however, he escaped being used any longer in worse place's and somehow managed to become a factory worker when he was fifteen. It wasn't safer working with machine's and factory owner's who liked to abuse the children who worked there but it was better then his previous confinement of being a child used in the underground. He was raped, tortured, and abused by adults who found him beautiful. Most people would feel blessed if they were attractive but it was the cause of most of Sebastian's pain. He was tall and lean with pale skin, His hair was raven black and surrounded his nerrow face well, but his eyes were the strange feature he possessed. He was somehow born with red eyes and although they were unique he supposed they were the reason his mother left him in a gutter on one of londons roads.

It was probably four in the morning and the boys body was no longer in the room, he knew where the child was going. When bodies of children had no family to claim them their bodies went to anatomist who dissected them. Sebastian supposed that when he died that's where he would go, to some doctor who would cut him open to see what his heart looked like...maybe it was black like the way he felt.

He didn't want to be here anymore but he knew he had nowhere to go, for a short escape Sebastian would sometimes go to the roof and watch London. It being the year 1888 there was never much human interaction at night for the fear of a killer on the lose. Someone by the name of jack the ripper. Sebastian couldnt understand how a killer who only killed five people got more attention then factory owners and anatomist who killed hundreds of children and counting but either way the killer was making the streets quiet and he was greatful for that.

While Sebastian was watching the world around him he could hear a carriage approching and when he let his attention fall on it he noticed it was a carraige of someone who was very wealthy. The carriage was lined with what looked like gold and in the oak wood was intricate carvings of beautiful designs. The carriage driver was wearing a silk coat showing he was the servent of possibly a Earl or maybe even a duke. Pulling the carriage was two very healthy and nicely groomed horses. Sebastian already hated these people, rich and privileged.

But suddenly the carriage stopped and a Beautiful lady with blonde hair came out of the carriage and helped a young boy out who seemed to have dark blue hair. Sebastian couldnt tell from where he was and it was so dark out. All he knew was that this wasnt the place for rich people to stop. The factory was in the east end of london and it was also known as the poor area. Rich people only passed through they never stopped here but suddenly he knew why these privileged people stopped. The young boy with dark blue hair was sick, and throwing up on the side of the road. Sebastian assumed that they were probably from the country and that he got sick from the trip down to the city. It was quite a bumpy road.

Sebastian watched as the blonde woman gently petted the boy who must of been her son's back. A older man came out who looked to be the husband and the father of the boy, he had the same color hair as the sick child.

"Vincent I told you it was a bad idea to bring Ciel..." the woman said to her husband.

"Where almost there, Do you think you can hold out a little longer son?" The man walked to his son and gently helped him stand up from the crouching position he was in.

"...yes." The boy named Ciel replied

"No Vincent, hes exhausted and needs to rest. Lets stop here and find a place for the night." The wife seemed persistent and the man didnt seem to want to anger her. Plus the boy did look very ill and as a father he seemed worried.

VIncent went into a small inn that was across the street from the factory Sebastian worked at and lived in and after a few moment's he came back out and motioned his family to come over into the inn.

Sebastian watched as the disappeared into the building and sighed. Being this close to rich people wasn't going to be good. He knew they would probably give him dirty looks as he passed by or one of them will pay him to "please" them, the young one will probably make fun of the other young boys from the factory because they were dirty and poor...he already hated the idea of the rich family and it was enough to make him want to go back inside. The sun was starting to come up anyway's and if he was caught on the roof he would be punished.

As the day passed Sebastian did his work which was usually carring heavy boxes and sometimes helping the younger kids keeping the machine's working, which was the most dangerous job because when they stopped working the kid's would have to crawl into the machine to fix whatever was jamming it since they were small enough to do so. Meaning when they got it un-jammed they had a few second's to get out. It wasnt uncommon to see kids lose limb's and even their life's. One of the worst case's Sebastian saw once was a child who's skull was crushed by a compressor, he was forced to clean it up, but that was years ago and he felt blessed to be too big now to have those kind's of job's.

When the lunch bell rang he quickly met up with Adrian . A old friend who was about the same age as him. Adrian had long white hair and a large scare accross his face from when they were younger, his eye's were bright green/yellow and he was quite attractive. He would later be known as the Undertaker.

Sebastian could tell he was slowly going mad from everything they had been going through since childhood. Slowly Adrian was becoming obssesed with death and dead bodies. Sebastian didn't mind however, he was changing too except it was the death of his soul that was changing.

"I got you a sandwich" Adrian handed Sebastian a half eaten ham sandwich.

"...where's the other half?"

"I got hungry hehe~"

Sebastian sighed and thanked the man. They both went outside to the front of the factory where they liked to eat and watch the kids that were on brake play in the muddy quad. Today they seemed to be playing soccor or some form of it with a old half dead ball. Sebastian was lost in his thoughts as he ate until he heared the children get a little louder then usual. When he looked up from his meal he noticed the boy that was throwing up this morning outside the factory. He remembered his name was Ciel. When he let his eye's scan the boy he realized the boy had two different color eyes that added to his beauty. One was a deep blue like the sky and the other was a deep purple, he was quite pale but his skin looked soft like cream. Now that the boy was closer he could see that his hair was not Dark blue. It was a Blue-Gray color and he was wearing a dark blue outfit that matched his hair and eyes well, it was made of wool and soft silk showing the boys wealth. It was easy for Sebastian to notice the boy was the most beautiful looking person he ever laid his eyes on.

Ciel seemed to be holding the ball in his small hand's causing some mud to get on them. When Sebastian pieced together in his head what was happening he realized that the boy was walking by when one of the kids kicked the ball and it fell infront of Ciel who picked it up and was now confused as to what he should do.

Sebastian had seen this before so he knew how it was going to go down. The rich kid would start yelling at the poor kids that they got mud on him. He will probably call them filth and make fun of them. His parents will get involved and the kids will be punished...He could feel his rage rolling off him from something that was bound to happen but it was all gone and replaced with confusion when Ciel instead walked to one of the boys his age and said "Can I join?"

"Do you even know how to play rich boy?" A boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes asked. His name was Alois and he was a few inches taller the the Blue haired boy.

"...I never played before, but I've watched others play."

"Then no, why don't you do something rich kids do. Like count your diamonds." As he finished his sentance he took the ball from Ciel then pushed him making the boy fall backwards into the mud, ruining his blue outfit that showed his status. All the kids started laughing.

"Shit." Sebastian quickly got up, he knew that Ciel would probably go running to his parents and that would be bad. He quickly went to Ciel and helped the boy up but it was too late he saw the teens father coming over and he knew that Alois was going to either be killed or sold and he himself for just being there might suffer the same fate. Vincent came over and most of the boys ran away besides Alois and Sebastian who was trying to pat some of the mud off of Ciel.

"What the hell is going on here? Ciel who did that to you?" Vincent made eye contact with Alois then Sebastian making the raven haired man stand up to attempt to intimitate the older male. This boy was going to ruin his life more then it was already ruined so the least he could do was look strong and unfrightened but the teen surpised him again.

"No one father, I tripped. They were helping me back up."

He looked at Ciel surpised but quickly hid it not to alert the already angry father. Vincent placed his hand on the boys back and started to lead him back to the inn they were staying at. "Come on lets clean you up." Ciel looked back at Sebastian completely ignoring Alois. Once he was gone Sebastian hit Alois on the back of the head.

"OW! what was that for!?" Alois yelled out

"Your lucky that boy didnt tell the truth, other wise you would of been shipped to some brothel." the raven haired man glared at the blond boy who was now a little nervous from Sebastians anger. When Adrian stepped in Alois was already starting to walk away.

"That kid was odd, He didnt try to get Alois in trouble for pushing him and he didnt seem grossed out by us." The white haired man stated and then looked at Sebastian.

"It just means he was raised right..."

"That or he doesnt get much human interaction."

Sebastian was confused by this "what do you mean?"

"when someone is lonely, they try to make friends with anyone...even the poor. "

Sebastian took that into concideration for a moment he did feel like there was something special about Ciel but he desided not to dwell on it anymore. The chances of him meeting the teen again were slim so why wonder about someone in a completely different world? Infact the family only stopped there because the son got sick, they were going to leave today into the better parts of London and thats exactly what they did, that night Sebastian watched as the families servent's got everything ready and help the family into the carriage and then they were gone.

Everything went back to normal, and Sebastian went about his days as normal. A week after the family had left the owner handed him a group of letters tied together. "You, take these to the post office in the west end." Sebastian was irritated that the owner didnt know his name by now. The raven haired man worked here for ten years but if he ever needed him "you" was the name he was given.

Sebastian sighed, he hated going to the west end of london, that was where all the wealthy people were and although the east end was dangourus, the west end was filled with rude wealthy people, None the less he was in no position to say no. The raven haired man set off to the west end. It was funny how much the city changed. It went from slums and gutters, postitutes trying to lure in men, and people coughing on the side of the road, to beautiful buildings and women in big coloful dresses, men in suits and top hats. It was a world Sebastian wished he could take part in, sometimes he wondered what he would look like in a suit. When he found the post office he wasted no time turning the letters over to them, it was a fast transaction and he was already heading on his way back but when he stepped out of the post office he noticed the same wealthy boy from a week ago. Ciel was alone and was holding a book in his hands. Sebastian found it odd that he would see this boy again but he would be lying to himself if he said he didnt like to stare. Ciel was beautiful, and Sebastian watched him wondering what it was like to be born with everything. Wealth and looks, and to be part of this upper class society that he could never be part of.

His thoughts were inturpted when he noticed Ciel walking into the road with his attention on the book in his hands. The boy didn't see the carriage that was racing in his direction and two more steps and the blue haired boy was going to be dead. The horse screamed out and Ciel looked over and widened his eyes as he realized his life was going to be ripped from him. It all happened so fast, and before Sebastian knew it he had ran and tackled the boy down, out of the way of the carraige. He was on top of Ciel and the boy had his eyes shut tight.

When he finally opened them he looked up at the man that was on top of him and processed everything that happened. "...thank you..." Was all the boy was able to say. Sebastian could feel a tug at his soul when his body touched the boys and it scared him a bit. He gently got up and then in turn helped the boy up.

"You are the man from the factory...What is your name?"

Sebastian stayed quiet for a moment then spoke "It seems im always helping you up...please pay more attention to your surroundings...My name is Sebastian."

"Thats such a common name, whats your last name?"

Sebastian was surprised by that response, first why did Ciel want to know his last name or even his first name. Second why was he still talking to him? Shouldnt he have said "thank you" and walked away?

"Michaelis."

"Thats a german name, are you german?" Ciel seemed curious in him and that was new to Sebastian...he liked it.

"No...I believe my heritage is French and English."

"We have that incommon..."

Sebastian realized that Ciel was a French name, he decided to play it off as if he didnt know the boys name as to not be creepy. "And whats your name?"

"Ciel, My name is Ciel Phantomhive."

All of a sudden he knew why this boys carriage looked like one of royalty. The Phantomhives were the wealthiest family in all of Britian excluding the royal family. It was said that they worked for the queen as spies and assassins, all childrens rumors Sebastian assumed. The truth was they owned a popular toy company. Suddenly though Sebastian didnt know what to say to the boy, Ciel looked down it seemed he regretted sharing his last name with Sebastian so the raven haired man quickly tried to think of something to say but before he could the blonde woman that he assumed was the boys mother came running up. "Ciel what are you doing outside!? Come quick, you cant be out here!" she gently pushed her son and lead him to where they were staying and once again Ciel looked back at Sebastian as he walked.

It was time for Sebastian to go back, if he wasted any time he was sure to get into trouble. The whole way back the blue haired boy with multi-colored eyes was on his mind and the strange feeling he got when his body touched the younger boys body. What was that? To put into words it felt like a torn string that was between them was suddenly mended.

When he got back night had already fallen and he went straight to the room he shared with other workers, Sebastian laid on his uncomfortable bed and stared at the wall until he slowly drifted into slumber.

That next morning he could hear a lot of the kids yelling excitedly and when he decided to investigate by looking out his window but what he saw was not something exciting to him; the boys father was walking to the Factory alone. Panic flooded through him, was he in trouble for interacting with Ciel...? Why was this man here? He quickly got dressed and tried to clean up the best he could which was not easy since there was no personal items he owned that he could use to make himself look better however Sebastian was natrually handsome.

The raven haired man was on his way down to the base of the factory when Adrian stopped him. "Sebastian you've been summoned hehe~."

"Is it because that man is here?..."

"How did you know?" Adrian had a huge grin painted on his face "Well Mr. Phantomhive isn't here to pass out toys to the children if thats what you think. Either way the Children are quite excited he's here, you however are not. May I ask why?"

"...I tackled his son yesterday."

"WHAT?! AHAHAHAHA!"

"I saved his life from a carriage!...but i dont think his father will see it that way.."

"Well" Adrian looked at Sebastian "Better not keep him waiting."

Sebastian agreed and made his way to the owners office where Vincent was talking to the man that owned him. When he arrived he knocked on the door and was let in.

"There you are, This is Vincent Phantomhive. He just bought you. Pack your things your leaving with him."

Sebastian looked at his previous owner then at Vincent confused and shocked, Vincent gave him a gently smile and let his voice brake the silence "My son told me a shocking story yesterday about a man that saved his life, he then asked me to hire you as one of our servents. So we are, My son needs someone to protect him and keep a eye on him and hes quite difficult so other servents havent been up to the job, will you agree to it?"

Sebastian seemed to still be consumed with questions, was this really happening? Servents of Earls didnt have perfect lives, but they lived so much better then people like him. They got three meals a day and their own rooms, Clean clothes and so much more. Sebastian would be insane to decline.

"Yes, i'll accept you'r offer..."

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so there we go chapter one!

Lets watch together as Ciel and Sebastian start to fall in love (/)

Also just a side note I normally update every night or every other night and English was my Second language so if there is any spelling or grammer mistakes I apologize!

See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2: Adjustment

I should apologize to everyone for my late chapter. My computer broke and I had no way to write this chapter. The good news? I got a new computer that's BEAUTIFUL!

That bad news: it costed more than a thousand dollars (no joke) so now I'll be poor for a good long while TT^TT

However, from now on I won't have to worry about not being able to update my chapters and we are back on our normal schedule of a chapter a night (or every other night)

Now let's start chapter 2!

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Sebastian Didn't have much to pack so he was done within a few minutes, there were a million thoughts going through his head. One was the possibility that Vincent wasn't as nice as he seemed and was going to sell him back into the underworld...what kind of luck would that be? Escape only to be pushed back in but then again why would someone put so much energy to come all the way out to the east end just to trick him. Either way from every option this was his best bet at an almost comfortable life.

"Well aren't you lucky?"

Sebastian turned his head to look the direction of the voice only to find Adrian leaning on the door frame to the room they had slept for ten years

"You get to live in a mansion and all you have to do is watch some rich boy hehe~"

Sebastian smiled at his old friend "I'll come back and visit you Adrian. Maybe if I play my cards right I could get you a job with the Phantomhives."

"Nah, The Undertaker down the road just died, I'm going to try and take his job. Someone has to undertake the Undertaker!" The white haired man laughed at his own joke and Sebastian only smiled at him, if would be a perfect fit for Adrian to become an Undertaker.

After the two said their goodbyes Sebastian made his way outside to find the same carved carriage from before with Vincent already inside waiting. The older man seemed to be reading a news article. He didn't exactly know what to do, would he sit in the front with the driver or does he go inside the carriage? Suddenly Sebastian realized he knew nothing of etiquette, he was grateful when the driver motioned him to enter the carriage and he did just that. Once he entered and sat on the seat opposite from Ciel's father the man used a cane to hit the top of the carriage notifying the driver to proceed. As the carriage began to move Vincent looked at Sebastian.

"I know this is sudden but when Ciel told me what you did I wanted to reward you somehow and Ciel asked if you could come back with us. I thought it might be good for him to have someone to help guide him."

Sebastian smiled one of his fake smiles at the blue haired man "It be an honor to work for your family Mr. Phantomhive."

"Call me Vincent, I hate those titles. Always have." Vincent smiled at him and that's when Sebastian saw the beauty of the man before him. Ciel took a lot of his looks and that was lucky of the boy because Vincent was very handsome. He was tall and lean, He had a darker Blue in his hair then his son did and his face was narrow. The father however didn't have the same anomaly of two different color eyes that is son possessed but he did have a beauty mark below his left eye. His eyes were a Chesnutt brown but that didn't subtract from his attractiveness. Sebastian found himself thinking back to when he saw This man's wife and Ciel's mother and he Remembered her beauty as well. This family looked like the perfect doll house family, and unlike most that made him uncomfortable, because Sebastian knew that beautiful things had thorns and he wondered what thorns this family had and what horrors he might have to face. Right now however he thought he might as well enjoy being able to sit in a carriage made for royalty.

To his Surprise they were heading out of London and when Vincent noticed his confusion he broke the silence.

"My wife and son headed back to our country home earlier this morning, I stayed behind on some business with the queen and decided to pick you up as well. We have two houses, one in the City and one in the country. Normally my wife and I spend a lot of time in London and Ciel mostly stays in the country."

"He doesn't follow you into the city?" Sebastian was both curious as to why Ciel would have to stay behind rather then follow his parents into London. The city was the place for wealthy people, there where seasonal party's every year and the wealthy had this absurd rule that they had to go to at least one or the whole upper class would spread nasty rumors about them. Sometimes Sebastian wished he had such an easy life that rumors where the worst thing to worry about.

"No, Ciel won't leave the county house much. That's actually one of the jobs you will be given. Ciel likes to sneak out, it's your job to keep him indoors at all cost. We only let him out to the City this week because it was his early birthday wish."

Now he understood what Adrian meant by Ciel being lonely and wanting a friend even if they were poor. The boy was shielded and wrapped in cotton by his parents, he probably didn't have any friends or anyone to talk to if he wasn't even allowed to go outside, the raven haired man started to feel bad for the boy.

"what other duties will I be given?"

"You will attend to Ciel's needs, bathe him, feed him, entertain him. You will find he is quite difficult; he has the attitude of a bull. None the less it will be your job to wait on him, however you have to follow strict rules from me. Ciel is not allowed to go outside the manner at any cost, his studies are top priority; being my only child and my son Ciel will inherit my fortune and also my business and job with the queen. He needs to have a sharp mind, that being said he can't skip a single lesson." Vincent looked back down at his paper and seemed to be done with the conversation. Sebastian was a little shocked someone would put so much on a young boy but then again Ciel was living a dream compared to the life he lived. The boy was waited on hand and foot and would soon be the wealthiest man in all of Britain once he inherited his father's fortune, it was still a little confusing as to why Ciel was not allowed to go outside but Sebastian only figured that it was probably because Vincent was scared of someone kidnapping the boy. Surly there was some people out there that would want some ransom money.

The ride to the country house was long and the raven haired man fell into slumber twice. After some hours the carriage finally stopped causing him to wake up. When he looked out the window he saw a huge mansion made of stone and surrounded by gardens. This was where he was going to be living and Sebastian almost couldn't believe it.

Vincent got out of the carriage first and with him as a guide he proceeded to follow the man. The first thing Sebastian noticed was all the servants lined up outside the huge home, all ready to greet their master. When Vincent walked passed them they all welcomed him. One who looked to be the butler, was gray haired and wore his age with grace. He opened the large mansion doors and bowed to Vincent. "Welcome home lord Phantomhive, Rachel and Ciel made it home safe earlier today and are now resting."

"Thank you Tanaka." Vincent waved his hand in the direction the raven haired man was standing and continued to speak "This is Sebastian; he is to be Ciel's butler from today forward. Please teach him the ropes around here."

Tanaka nodded his head as he placed his hand over his heart "Yes my lord." Sebastian wondered if he would have to be as proper as this man was. Even though he was merely a butler he wore grace and elegance but Sebastian supposed everyone who worked with the Phantomhives had to be top of the line. Vincent took his leave into the manner and as soon as he did the old man by the name of Tanaka turned to Sebastian "My name is Tanaka, welcome to the Phantomhive manor. Follow me and I'll show you to your new accommodations." He lead Sebastian into the manor making him besotted by what he saw; the floor was covered in white marble covered with huge crimson carpets to warm the room, there was huge paintings hanging along the walls with two huge windows with long silk crimson curtains to match the carpet hanging from them but the most lavish thing his eyes fell upon was the grand stair case that was in the middle of the room that lead up to the many corridor's and rooms. As they walked the butler told him the rules of the house; mostly containing that the family was very to themselves and that meant Sebastian couldn't talk about anything he hears the family talk about. "You are a wall, you have no ears and you have no mouth unless spoken to."

"Could you tell me about my new master?" Sebastian was curious of the child he was going to be waiting hand and foot on, hoping what Vincent said was inaccurate. He rather not be serving a boy with the attitude of a "bull" however Ciel made him feel strange. As if he was fond of him. Maybe it was because the child didn't look at him like he was dirt, it was the first time anyone from Ciel's class acknowledged him.

"The young master is fluent in French and Latin, He excels in all academic fields and loves to read. He may ask you to play chess with him considering it is his favorite game. However, Ciel has no physical strong suits. Knowing this it is your job to keep him from any physical strain." As he was listening to the old butler inform him of Ciel he noticed that the man lead him down a corridor that was no longer like the rest of the manor. Unlike the beautiful marble floors and lavish furnishings, the floor was covered with wood flooring and there were only candles to light the hall, when the butler stopped in front of a wooden door he realized that was his new chamber. Tanaka opened the door and allowed Sebastian to walk past him. The room was plain, only having a bed with white sheets, a dresser with nothing in it, and a desk with a folded black suit made of cotton and silk with dress shoes that he assumed was his new uniform.

"Wash up and change into that suit, the servant's washroom is down the hall." With that the old butler walked away leaving Sebastian alone.

The raven haired man did exactly that, grabbing the new suit he walked down the hall, once he found the washroom he went inside and found a copper tub in the middle of the room already holding hot water. Sebastian wondered who set up the water for him so fast, it was apparent that the Phantomhive manner was indeed top of the line. Not willing to waste any more time he undressed and found his way into the tub. The water felt great. Sebastian couldn't think of a time he bathed in warm water and he made sure to never forget this moment. Laying back he let the water soothe him. He let out a comfortable sigh and wondered how he became so lucky. Surely he had no angels watching over him in fact he much rather hated the idea of angels.

By the time Sebastian got out of the water he had lost track of how long he had been in there. Once dressed he examined himself in the mirror. His earlier question about him in a suit was answered. The raven haired man looked amazing in it. It was the same deep black as his hair and matched him well. He couldn't understand the feeling that he was feeling, was it exhilaration?

Once he was ready he decided it be best for him to find his young lord and greet him as his new servant but he found that to be quite hard. He couldn't seem to find the boy anywhere. The house was like a maze, there was so many rooms and corridors. Finally, Sebastian found the boy, He was sitting in what looked like the manor's library reading a book that was way too advanced for a boy his age to be reading. Ciel didn't notice him, he was sitting on the window seat entangled within his book.

"Young master?" Sebastian broke the silence in the room and when Ciel looked at him he seemed utterly confused.

"Sebastian?"

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Alright so once again I am truly sorry for making you all wait this long for chapter two but for those of you that waited thank you.

Till next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Perception

Hello everyone!

Are you ready for chapter 3!

BECAUSE I AM!

(I'm just really excited about this new computer)

Also this chapter I should go over something before we start. I'm a huge history buff (and trying to become a historian) so with that being said I will throw in some true dark history into this story. As Sebastian briefly stated in the last chapter about anatomist who would take children corpses to dissect them. That was a very true event that took place from the 1700s-1800s.

In those times it was considered a sin to cut open a human body that was dead, the body must be buried and become one with the earth. Anatomist and doctors couldn't really help anyone by not knowing how the human body worked. So they started grave robbing fresh graves but once it was known that this was happening loved ones of the deceased hired mort safes who were basically people who just watched the graves at night. Sometimes the undertaker would perform this duty as well. Anatomist didn't give up very easy and in the name of science they would lure young boys at night with the promise of food, kill them and have them cut open the next morning. They found this to be more effective then grave robbing because the bodies were fresher this way.

The last attempt to stop this was when the anatomist act of 1832 was passed stating anybody that wasn't claimed would be donated to doctors and anatomist as cadavers and anyone who chooses can donate their own body. (it's the reason now you can donate your body to science when you die) and where a lot of homeless go after death.

Anyways this however didn't stop the anatomist and I believe one of the most popular bodies found that was murdered and used as a cadaver was an eight-year-old boy from the year 1831.

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Ciel gently placed his book down and adjusted himself on the window seat to face Sebastian who was standing before him. The blue haired boy seemed amazed to see the raven haired man cleaned up in the suit he was almost speechless.

"You clean up well."

"Well I suppose I have you to thank for that." Sebastian gave the multicolored eyed boy a genuine smile and looked at the book beside the teens small figure "Is this what you do for fun? Read Latin books?"

"For people like me the only freedom is through the mind. By reading other people's work I get to time travel and see different worlds."

"I see the trouble with time travel but seeing different worlds is possible, ever been to china? Or India? It's a completely different world." The boy gave Sebastian an expression he couldn't read. Was it envy or anger?

Ciel got up and walked over to him "To be honest I'm quite surprised you are here. I didn't think my father would agree to allowing a stranger to be in the manor and on top of that watch his only child."

"I am your early birthday present." Sebastian smirked at the teen gaining him a scoff from the boy

"First how do you even know about my birthday? Who told you about it? And Second, you? My birthday present? Please. I'd rather have an old book." It was right what Vincent had said, Ciel had the attitude of a bull but Sebastian didn't mind. He much rather liked Ciel's attitude now that he got to see it up close.

"How old will you be turning?" Sebastian guessed maybe Ciel was going to be turning twelve since the boy was quite small.

"My body would have rotated around the sun approximately fourteen times."

It was obvious Ciel only stated his age in such a manner to annoy the raven haired man but Sebastian only found it amusing, he was however speechless for a moment over the teens age, Ciel was a lot older then he imagined. Why was the boy so small in stature?

Ciel noticing Sebastian's silence and decided to brake it "How old are you? Let me guess, fifty?" The teen was only being rude to try and get a reaction out of him. Sebastian was noticing something though, talking to Ciel was like talking to someone you know for years. When you have that once close friend and you show your fondness of them by insulting them and they playfully insult you back. That was the relationship they already had and the older raven haired man loved these kinds of playful relationships.

"Approximately five hundred and six I presume." Sebastian joked.

Ciel scoffed again causing Sebastian to smirk. "That's absurd." The teen then went to sit back down on the window seat and opened his book notifying Sebastian that he was done with the conversation but Sebastian wasn't done.

"It might be quite rude to ask but may I inquirer about how you obtained such unique eyes?" The taller male walked so that he was right in front of the boy, the way the sunlight was hitting the glass and reflecting on the younger male was breath taking. Ciel's multicolored eyes glimmered when the sun hit them making them look even more distinct.

"It's called heterochromia iridum, there are various ways one can obtain it. Either its passed on through genetics, caused by injury, or disease. Some even believe that it is caused from inbreeding."

"And what caused it in your case?"

"No one is certain; my doctor thinks it might be caused from some unknown disease since I wasn't born with it. It developed when I was four years old. My parents think it might be hereditary since as nobles we do breed with our cousins however my parents are not related with one another but our past relatives have. Honestly it's just one of those mystery's that we can't solve in our time, our medical advances have not reached that high yet."

Suddenly Sebastian thought of the children he knew who were murdered by anatomist who wanted to cut them open to see how the human body ticked. They killed the poor and desperate to save the elite and wealthy. He wondered how many children died to so that people like Ciel could understand the medical anomaly they possessed and be diagnosed. He knew it wasn't the boys fault, it wasn't the teen who was out there murdering but he couldn't help thinking about it.

The sun was starting to go down and Sebastian remembered Vincent telling him that one of his duties was to bathe the boy, Ciel was thirteen so why couldn't the boy bathe himself? Was this truly how spoiled the wealthy were? At what age do they start bathing themselves? Either way he wasn't in the position to complain but he did make a note to himself to tease Ciel about it later.

"would you like your bath now young master?"

"Yes. Now is fine."

Sebastian spent the next few minutes getting the bath ready for Ciel, taking hot water up to the wash room and filling the ceramic tub. The whole washroom was worthy of being a five-star inn. It was covered in tile that was shipped all the way from India but around the tub it was covered by a dark blue carpet with beautiful designs on it. There was a cabinet in the room filled with soft white towels and even a small fireplace to keep the room warm.

Once the tub was full and the fire in the fireplace was lit. Sebastian went to inform his new young master that the bath was ready and lead him to it. Once alone he slowly started to undress Ciel, starting by unbuttoning the teens shirt. The raven haired man was nervous, when he first touched the blue haired boy he felt the sensation of a broken string being mended and it confused him. He wondered if he will feel it again and also if Ciel had felt it as well.

When he gently pulled off the younger male's shirt he noticed a burn scar on the side of the boy and alongside his back. "Young master?"

"Don't worry about that."

"I would like to know everything about you since I'll be working for you for what seems to be the rest of my life, shall we get the awkward conversations out of the way now before they become built up in our future?"

Ciel seemed aggravated but gave in to his new butler "It's nothing serious, my father's job is dangerous and sometimes it attracts the wrong sort of people. There was an assassination attempt on my father when I was ten. They tried to set our manor on fire in hopes we die in the flames. We didn't and this scar is just a reminder that we need to be more careful."

Sebastian gently ran his hand over the scar causing the boy to twitch "I'm guessing this dangerous job you speak of is not the toy company."

Ciel only nodded and Sebastian understood that now was probably not the time to dig any deeper. He began to finish undressing the teen taking off the boy's pants and all his other clothing. He took the time to examine the blue haired boy. He was surprisingly skinny and pale, was it normal for a thirteen-year-old to be this small? But despite that Ciel was a work of art, he was perfect.

The older male helped the blue haired boy into the tub and gently began to wash him. It was surprisingly not awkward at all but seemed natural. Sometimes Ciel would splash him just to aggravate him but it was all in vain because Sebastian was enjoying the teen right now, how soft his skin was and also how he became just a tad bit playful. It came in flashes and Sebastian could tell the teen struggled trying to always act older than his age. From what Vincent told him it didn't sound like Ciel had a childhood and by the way the blue haired boy talked it seemed he was wise beyond his years and carried himself the same as an adult would. Was he trained to be like that similar to how a dog is trained to please its master in this case his father was the master, or was Ciel just an old soul in a young body. He figured all these questions will be answered in due time but there was no point in rushing them now.

When he was done bathing the boy he helped him out and gently placed a towel over Ciel. He had more fun than he thought he would be rubbing the towel over the teens head to dry his hair. He smirked and rubbed a little rougher than necessary causing the blue haired boy to lose his balance and quickly latch on to Sebastian for support.

And there it was, that feeling that connected him to Ciel. The feeling of their souls grabbing at each other. It was pleasant and terrifying all at once and the younger male quickly pulled away helping Sebastian understand that Ciel felt it too, so he must have felt it before as well.

"I'm tired…" The teen proclaimed to try and avoid anymore of whatever was happening and Sebastian started to dress him in his night clothes

"then let's get you in your bed shall we?"

Once Ciel was in the huge bed Sebastian blew out all the candle except the one he was holding so he could find his way.

"Good night young master."

Ciel shifted in the bed until he was comfortable and once he found a position he liked he closed his eyes and drifted into the unknown allowing Sebastian to go to his own room and rest for the night.

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Hope you guys enjoyed and didn't mind my rambling in the beginning about history….I just really love dark history and I feel like it will help Deeping the story if the readers know kind of the degree of what Sebastian had to watch when he was younger.

Anyways see you guys next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Preparation

The next morning Sebastian went to go wake Ciel up. He himself was tired and he had no idea why the teen was supposed to wake up at seven in the morning every day, that meaning Sebastian had to be up and ready by six in the morning and prepare breakfast for his young master. If he had known this last night, he would of went to bed sooner.

He brought a tray of food to his master's door and knocked "Younger master it is time to wake up." There was no response so the raven haired man opened the door and walked up to the bed placing the tray on Ciel's oak night stand. When he caught a glimpse of the sleeping boy Sebastian couldn't help but let a smile curve his lips.

Ciel was adorable when he slept, the boys feather blankets were no longer covering him due to movement and he was cuddled up to his pillow. He looked so peaceful and calm. Sebastian almost didn't want to disrupt the blue haired boys slumber but remembering Vincent's orders he began to gently shake Ciel's shoulder causing the boy to look up at him both tired and confused.

"Sebastian?"

"Good morning young master, it's time to get up."

"Ugh..."

Sebastian gently chuckled and opened the curtains to the windows allowing the sun to shine into the room but Ciel only hissed angrily and pulled the blanket over his head.

"well aren't you acting like a child." Sebastian smirked and just as he thought that got Ciel to peek his head out from under the covers

"I'm not a child."

"Is that so?"

Ciel sat up clearly upset with Sebastian's tone of voice but refusing to let the older man have the satisfaction of seeing him flustered. "what did you bring me to eat?"

"Food." Sebastian laid the tray on the boy's lap and smiled. Causing Ciel to roll his eyes at the taller male.

The day went by oddly for Sebastian, this was his first time seeing how the boy lived his days and he himself hated it so he couldn't imagine how Ciel must have felt. After he got Ciel ready by dressing him he instantly started his lessons and they were not walk in the park lessons. Ciel was learning such advanced material that philosophers themselves would have a hard time learning. During this time his job was to stay in the room incase Ciel requested anything during his lessons. To his surprise the boy's tutors where quite rude and would even hit the teen on the hand with a ruler if he got a question incorrect. Luckily for Ciel he was a genius and that didn't happen very often. After the boys lessons he had to practice on his violin, the raven haired man wondered why the boy would have to know how to play the instrument but either way he enjoyed listening to Ciel play. He was quite good but once again the instructor was strict and would strike the boy if he made any mistakes. Then it was Ciel's lunch break. Sadly, it only lasted five minutes and then again Ciel was back on schedule. He then had to read a book in Latin out loud and then translate it into English on paper, then do the same with French, once that was finished he got to have a brake only if it consisted of a game of chess to work his brain even more. However, Sebastian noticed that none of this seemed to bother Ciel, especially not the chess. The child seemed to love brain games. Then it was time for dinner and after that the only physical thing Ciel had to participate in; fencing and possibly the only field the boy failed in. He grew tired quickly and had a hard time with his stamina. Sebastian wondered why Ciel reacted this way to physical activity. He would think that the boy's parents would drill him to excel in this like they forced him to excel in everything else. One thing that was hard to miss was the instructor was not like the others when it came to this. There was concern every time Ciel wheezed or became tired and he would be asked to sit down and rest before continuing instead of striking the boy if he failed. Showing that Ciel's parents must of gave him orders to be careful.

It was already eight in the afternoon and he was sitting with Ciel for his last scheduled activity; independent study. Sebastian was allowed to help with this one. All he had to do was read questions to the teen and inform him if he got them right or wrong. They had gone through a few questions before Sebastian grew tired.

"Who was King Henry VIII's second wife?"

"Queen Anne Boleyn" Ciel answered the question without having to think about it.

"What year was she born?"

"That's a trick question. No one truly knows but it is believed the queen was born between the years 1501-1507."

"Correct. Who did she give birth to and what year?"

"Queen Elizabeth I in the year 1533."

"When and how did Anne die?"

"In 1536 she was executed by beheading under the accounts of treason."

Sebastian put the paper that he was reading the questions from down "Now what would you possibly gain from this information?" the blue haired boy seemed confused as to why Sebastian had stopped the study.

"I suppose it's just so I have a basic understanding of the royal house." The teen answered not really knowing himself why he needed to know about a queen that died almost four hundred years ago.

"Basic? Ciel most kids your age…no, most adults couldn't recite this material."

"Exactly, I'm supposed to excel beyond an adult's knowledge over almost every field."

"This is too much to put on a Child."

"I'm not a Child."

The multicolored eyed boy's demeanor was serious and that raised a few flags for Sebastian. What kind of job was Ciel going to inherit from his father that required him to be this sharp minded?

"What is it you will be doing once your father passes his estate to you?"

"My wife will manage the funtom toy company like my mother does now, and I'll work for the queen as my father does."

"What kind of work does your father do for the queen?" Sebastian thought back to a time when he was twelve and overheard stories of the Phantomhives. Everyone seemed frightened of them, here he was now, twenty-five years old before the youngest member of the Phantomhive family and heir to the family name he wanted to know the dark secrets this family was holding. Especially if Ciel was the one who had to carry them on his shoulders.

"I'm not allowed to speak of that…Sebastian can we please talk about something else?" the boy was tense and Sebastian didn't want to upset Ciel further so he gave up on the conversation and switched as Ciel had asked.

"What would you like to speak of?"

"I don't know…anything?"

"Anything hm?"

Sebastian thought for a moment then smiled at Ciel "What do you want for your birthday?"

"My birthday?" Ciel seemed surprised that Sebastian brought up the day of his birth. "I uh…don't really know what I want."

"Come on there must be something you fancy." He leaned forward and started to fix the blue haired boys shirt and to his surprise the teens cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

"I'll let you know when I think of something."

At that moment blood dripped out of Ciel's nose but the teen didn't notice till it dripped onto his white shirt causing the boy to become alarmed.

"Sebastian…"

The older male shocked by the sudden nose bleed placed his hand under Ciel's chin and gently angled his head up to examine the boys nose. He was watching the whole time and there was nothing to cause the bleeding. Grabbing a nearby handkerchief, he wiped Ciel's nose, mouth and chin but it was too late to save the cotton shirt the boy was wearing. The bleeding wouldn't seem to stop so he gently held the handkerchief to Ciel's nose while holding the younger males head back. He could tell the teen was a little frightened over the sudden gush of blood so Sebastian tried to lighten the mood.

"Told you it was too much, your brain is frying in there."

Ciel hit his arm but there was not enough force there for the boy to hurt him, Sebastian only chuckled. At that moment Rachel came into the room and once seeing Ciel she quickly went over to her son and took over for Sebastian. "Oh god not again."

Sebastian went to get a wet rag for Ciel and quickly brought it back, He watched as Ciel's mother gently wiped the new blood away and found that the bleeding finally stopped. "ma'am does this happen a lot?" Sebastian spoke to the blonde woman. She always seemed stressed over Ciel so he never quite knew what to say to her.

"Not too often, maybe once a month since he was four…Sebastian I actually came here looking for you, Vincent wanted to speak with you in his study. I'll watch over Ciel so don't worry."

Sebastian looked at Ciel who seemed embarrassed, he really didn't want to leave the boy but he knew he shouldn't disobey his employer. Giving Rachel a bow he said "yes ma'am. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that he started to walk to Vincent's study.

Sebastian found himself in front of Vincent's study door and he gently knocked, when he heard the voice on the other side commanding him to come in he did just that. Vincent was sitting on a heavy looking desk that was cherry wood. On it was piles of papers that were neatly stacked. The blue haired man looked up from his papers and smiled at Sebastian.

"How was your first day going through Ciel's routine?"

"Everything went as scheduled, however he got a nose bleed just now."

Vincent sighed and rubbed his temples at the last statement "I see."

"It could be Caused by stress. Ciel has a lot on his shoulders."

Vincent stared at the raven haired man for what seemed like forever until he finally said "Sebastian do you intend on staying here and working for me and my family?"

"…yes."

"Then you will refrain from questioning my parenting." The older male stood up and walked around his desk to stand in front of Sebastian, he leaned back on the desk so that he wasn't exactly sitting or standing.

"Since you chose to stay I will inform you about the importance of Ciel's education and lessons. I am not doing this to him to be cruel. I am trying to protect him by preparing him for the world. You coming from the bottom must know what I'm talking about. There are a lot of evil people on this planet and I am no exception, you see I am the darkness that the evil is scared of. I work as the queen's guard dog. My job is to take out whoever she sees fit. As you can imagine this causes me to have a lot of enemies. People who try to kill my family and I. I always have to be two steps ahead not only from them but also the queen herself. I am aware that just like those I dispose of for her she can dispose of me. I am preparing Ciel to have the ability to always be five steps ahead, so that he won't be killed in his sleep.

My job consists of assassinating those who threaten the crown, torturing some to gain information, controlling the underworld and keeping it from surfacing. You see Scotland yard can only do so much and their justice is what the queen wants Britain to see, I am the one who is behind the closed doors doing the dirty work for her."

Sebastian realized why so many people in the underworld were frightened of the Phantomhive name. they were the law to the lawless. He now knew this man was not someone to be around but it was too late. He wanted to protect Ciel and that meant staying. He also knew that this man had all of the underworld out to kill him meaning Ciel was also in constant danger. The Phantomhives ruled the underworld just like Lucifer ruled hell but what demon doesn't dream of killing the ruler to gain the crown.

This was proving to be a rough situation but one thing was for curtain; he understood why Ciel had to be five steps ahead.

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Thank you everyone for the reviews!

They really do help me out and I love hearing what you all think of the story and how I'm writing it.

I'm really happy that you all seemed to like the dark history bits. The reason why I love kuroshitsuji so much was that it was based in one of my favorite time periods.

Anyways see you all next time!


	5. Chapter 5: The Pulse Of Our Souls

"Also Sebastian." Vincent stood up and walks so that he was standing in front of the raven haired man "I hope that you don't ever decide to leave this place, now that you know what my job is." It was a threat. Vincent was warning Sebastian that if he was to ever leave it would be in a coffin. He understood why, the information he was just given could be dangerous in the wrong hands however the raven haired man still didn't enjoy the older male trying to frighten him. He didn't plan on leaving, not while Ciel was here but there was a feeling of confinement that he hated about this situation. Just like before he was chained except this time the chains were unseen.

"Will that be all my lord?" it seemed he and the father of the child were not going to get along well, how unfortunate.

"Yes."

Sebastian left Vincent's study and made his way back to Ciel, but when he came into the room no one was in it. He saw the teens bloody shirt on a chair, he wondered if Ciel was still getting cleaned up until he saw some movement behind one of the large windows crimson curtains. Confused Sebastian quietly walked to the window and gently pulled the curtain so he could look in. sure enough Ciel was sitting on the floor behind the curtain. Sebastian noticed the blue haired boy was wearing a new clean shirt and was looking right at him with his two different color eyes.

"Young master what are you doing back here?"

"….I like it here."

Sebastian gently chuckled and sat down besides the teen and pulled the curtains back so that he was behind them with Ciel. He found it a little difficult being as tall as he was but it was manageable. Sebastian could understand why Ciel liked it here so much. It was quite and comfortable, the kind of place a cat would like. The huge window looked out to the garden and the forest behind it. This must be the place Ciel went to hide from his obligations.

"Sebastian what are you doing?" the boy seemed a little confused as to why instead of telling him to come out he sat next to him.

"I'm relaxing." He bluntly answered as he gave Ciel a genuine smile.

"You are the weirdest servant I've ever had."

"I suppose I am." He chuckled

It was quiet for a moment until Ciel's voice filled the air. "Sebastian you have long legs."

Looking at his legs he responded "yes. They are quite long, however being as tall as I am it would look quite odd if they were short."

"Were your parents tall?" the same curiosity from when he first met Ciel was showing and he loved it when Ciel wanted to know more about him.

"I wouldn't know."

"Did you not know your parents?"

"No, I have no idea who my father was and my mother was a whore who lived in Liverpool. From what I was told she left me in a gutter after she birthed me."

Ciel was silent it seemed he didn't know how to answer to the information he just received, Sebastian understood the boy didn't know if he was touching a sensitive subject so to comfort the blue haired teen Sebastian let a gentle smile curve his lips "Its ok Ciel, we can talk about my past. It doesn't hurt anymore."

With Sebastian's reassurance Ciel continued still a little nervous "Why did your mother leave you?"

"It is a dark story are you sure you want to hear?"

"Yes." Ciel shifted so that he was facing Sebastian and the raven haired man responded by doing the same so that they were both sitting facing each other, he found Ciel's curiosity in him cute.

"From what I was told by someone that knew my mother; she was a whore who was taken and raped by a cult of demon worshipers. They wanted a demon soul to possess the baby that would be conceived. She got away after and when she birthed me she was mortified by my eyes and believed it was proof I really was a demon. So she left me. I suppose my father could be anyone of the men that raped her that night."

Ciel looked shocked, Sebastian assumed the teen never heard horror stories from the real world. He was always locked away and shielded. Once the younger male soaked in all the information his features calmed.

"So…. are you a demon?"

The taller male gently laughed "I'm not sure."

Ciel smiled and it might have been the first time Sebastian saw a genuine smile on the boy.

"I think red eyes suit you."

It was the first compliment Ciel had granted him, it was also the first time someone said something good about his eyes. It seemed there was a lot of "firsts" happening today but he didn't mind he could feel himself getting closer to the teen. "Thank you."

"if you had no parents to raise you, who did?" Feeling more comfortable with the subject Ciel was no longer holding back his questions.

"No one really. In the beginning it was a lady that found me and raised me with her eight other children. We all had to work for her by selling baked goods she made on the streets. When I was six a man who looked wealthy asked me if I was hungry and of course I told him the truth. He lured me into a building and before I knew it I was being sold in an underground auction. From there no one raised me anymore. It was just a game of survival."

Once again Ciel was taking in his newfound knowledge of the taller male then when he was ready he spoke. "what did they do to you?"

"Well, it was a cycle of being bought and sold to different masters and being used for different needs. Sometimes labor, other times sexual."

Ciel seemed to be hurt by that information, he knew who ruled the underworld so in a sense his father was at fault for Sebastian being tortured. "…. they raped you?"

"young master, its ok. It was a long time ago and I hardly ever thing about it anymore. Plus, my new master is a lot kinder." He flashed the boy a gentle smile to try and cheer him up. It seems Ciel wanted to change the subject so Sebastian allowed it. "What were you thinking about before I interrupted you?"

Ciel looked out the window, it was starting to get extremely dark but the light from the moon lit his face. "Something stupid."

"I'm sure it wasn't anything stupid young master, you are quite the intelligent individual."

Ciel sighed and leaned on the glass not letting his eyes leave the world outside. Suddenly Sebastian understood that Ciel didn't say that because he really thought it was stupid but because he was uncomfortable talking about what he was thinking of.

The smaller male was never listened to; his parents were always too busy or absent all together. The servants didn't really care and only pretended to as to keep their jobs. His tutors didn't want to hear his thoughts or opinions they just wanted him to recite information from a book. The boy before him didn't feel comfortable with his own thoughts anymore and this was something that was sad to Sebastian. Someone so smart not allowed to express his ideas and theories because his future job wasn't to produce something amazing but rather to avoid death and to kill on orders. Sebastian wondered how it made the younger male feel knowing that his whole life was written for him.

"I really want to know what was on your mind." All he wanted to do now was give Ciel the confidence to express his thoughts and dreams.

"why?"

"Because you are special and so are your thoughts. I want to know how your mind works. I can normally read everyone like an open book but you, your something unique. I can't read you."

That seemed to open the boy up because he took his gaze off the window and looked into Sebastian's eyes. "I was wondering where in our body our soul is. Do you feel your soul in your head or your chest?"

The question took Sebastian by surprise, that was nowhere near what he thought Ciel might be thinking but that's what he liked about the boy. He was so different.

"I never thought about it. Since I see out of my head and process everything in my mind I would presume my soul is behind my eyes."

Ciel thought for a moment then spoke what he was thinking. "I feel like mine is in my chest. What if our heart beat is more than just an organ pumping blood though our body? What if it's also the pulse of our soul."

That stopped Sebastian's thought process and placed it in a different perspective. Now he knew for sure; he loved the way Ciel's mind worked.

He stared at the blue haired boy in amazement not just over the conversation but just over Ciel in general. Something about the boy made him want to hear Ciel talk forever.

The smaller male broke Sebastian's thoughts as he said "Maybe it is stupid…its most likely that those who feel their soul in their head are just logical people that act on logic and analyzation over emotion and those who feel their soul is in their chest act more off of feelings and emotions."

"No, as I said before. You are very intelligent." Sebastian gently placed his hand over Ciel's heart causing the boy to stare at him with a slight shade of pink painted on his cheeks.

"I like the way your soul feels." The feeling of a deep connection with Ciel surfaced, as if he knew the soul incased within the body Ciel possessed and a sudden feeling of happiness surfaced when Ciel responded by slowly and gently placing his hand on his butler's chest to feel the heart beat within.

They stayed there, listening to each other's hearts beat together.

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So I live in San Francisco and right now the super bowl is a think (ugh!) so as you can imagine the city is crazy right now! There are a few free concerts happening in the streets and a lot of events (as a hermit I just want everything to stop so I can write in silence ha-ha) the only good thing that's happening is Ryan Reynolds is in the city giving out Deadpool stuff! However, with all the people I hardly think I'll be able to get anywhere near him (sigh).

Well anyways I hope you all liked this chapter Ciel and Sebastian are starting to get closer and I can't wait to write them slowly bonding and falling in love with one another. In the reviews tell me who you would like to see confess their feelings first (I already have it set in my mind but I'm curious what you guys opinions on it are)

Well see you all next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6: sneaking out

"Master Ciel?" The voice belonged to one of the maids. She was searching the mansion looking for the young lord. Ciel quickly pulled his hand off of Sebastian's chest and pulled it to his mouth placing a finger over his lips notifying the older male to stay quiet. The maid looked around for a short moment then walked out of the room to search the others causing Ciel to sigh and put his hand down.

"How often do you hide from the servants?"

"Anytime I get a chance."

"Do you hide from me?" Sebastian was curious if Ciel had ever tried to avid him like he avoided the maids and Tanaka.

"I haven't yet."

"Yet?"

The boy sighed again and looked at the raven haired man "we should probably go back out before they start a search party."

Sebastian nodded and got up, it felt nice to stretch his legs. How long were they sitting there? Pushing the curtains open he let Ciel walk out first then following close behind the teen. When he examined one of the old clocks in the room he saw it was late now, the large hand was on the ten.

"we should get you into bed young master" Ciel seemed irritated that he had a bed time, it seems the boy hated anything that seemed childish and having a bed time was one of those things. Ignoring this Sebastian pulled out Ciel's night clothes from the teens dresser and started to change him.

Gently he unbuttoned Ciel's shirt and slid it off the small shoulders making sure not to look at the boys burn to avoid embarrassing him further. "Your mother said your nose bleeds quite often. About once every so often?"

Ciel only nodded as the older male draped his night shirt over him.

"Could it be that you have dust allergies?"

Ciel looked at him almost as if he was studying him but Sebastian couldn't understand why the boy would want to read him while talking about allergies, what did he need to be careful talking about? was he trying to hide something that had to do with the nose bleeds?

"Maybe your right…it's probably just allergies, I'm tired Sebastian." The taller male was noticing Ciel used the excuse of being tired when he didn't want to talk anymore. It was one of his ways to avoid things he was uncomfortable with.

"Yes of course."

Sebastian finished dressing Ciel and walked over to the bed pulling open the covers for the boy, he watched as the blue haired boy climbed into the bed and covered himself.

"Sleep well young master."

….

While walking through the halls at night Sebastian heard a group of men talking one sounded like Vincent, when he came to the door he had heard the voices from he quickly realized it was Vincent's entertainment room. Seems he had someone over playing pool with him Sebastian could hear the sound of the billiard balls clashing into each other. However, the conversation that was going on inside sounded quite serious. He found himself leaning his ear to the door to listen in, being extra alert that no one was coming through the halls. It be hard to explain this if caught.

"when will you have your son accompany you on one of the queen's orders?"

"Ciel is still too young for that."

"Too Young? The boy is on his fourteenth year, if I remember correctly you took over from your father at his age."

"and I was too young."

The mystery man sighed "You can't shield him forever Vincent, he will have to come face to face with it sooner or later. It be wise to throw him into the horrors young so that by the time he's your age he will be numb to it."

"I would like Ciel to have a full childhood first, I'll have him accompany me when he's eighteen and no sooner."

"If that is what you wish then fine however, do you really believe he will want your life style by then? When their young they obey and follow the path you set for them but if you allow him to grow freely and age to the point where he will voice his opinions, he might reject the occupation and you know as well as I do that if he rejects he will be killed by her majesty, along with the rest of the Phantomhives."

This time it was Vincent's turn to let out an irritated sigh "Yes, I'm aware."

It was quiet for a moment until Vincent's voice surfaced once again "I wish with all my heart Ciel didn't have to follow in my footsteps. I want him to grow up believing he could be anyone he wants to be. I want him to have utter freedom. It hurt more than I expected when I pulled him away from other children and forced him through his studies. I saw him change; from the loving outgoing child to a quiet introverted young boy. He hardly smiles anymore and I know he's aware of what I'm preparing him for. My son is not stupid. On more than one occasion I found missing documents in his room of my cases, he knows I'm a murderer and he knows he's being trained to be a killer as well. Since his body is so small he will have to kill in the manner of playing live chess with his victims, but I'd much rather send him off to a university, watch him make friends and excel and then become whatever he wants to become."

"Vincent…we both know that even if you were not the queens guard dog, Ciel would never be able to have a normal life with other children."

Sebastian wondered what the man on the other side of the room meant, why wouldn't Ciel be able to live a normally if Vincent wasn't who he was? Was there something else about the boy that halted him from interacting with the world?

"…I Know"

More sounds of the billiard balls hitting each other along with some footsteps.

"How is the new servant you got for him, Sebastian was it? Will we have to dispose of him?"

"No, so far he seems loyal. However, I've noticed his interest in my son."

"Interest?"

"He was concerned that I was stressing Ciel out. He's the first servant to question my parenting."

"Why didn't you dismiss him? No servant should disrespect you like that, he's below you and should learn his place"

It was a good thing Sebastian was unseen because the irritation on his face was apparent

Vincent laughed "I like him. He's brave and speaks his mind plus I've never seen Ciel react the way he does around Sebastian. From what the maids have told me Ciel is speaking his mind with Sebastian, he won't even do that with me. he's still giving off his attitude but it's different from the other servants. It's not attitude from hatred and annoyance, its playful attitude. I think Sabastian will be good for him."

It was weird to hear Vincent talk highly of him, just a moment ago he truly believed the blue haired man hated him. It was time to stop spying however, any moment now Tanaka would be here to serve the men inside drinks and Sebastian didn't want to be caught listening in on the conversation.

Leaving the scene, he made his way through the dark halls until he made it to the room that was given to him. The manor was beautiful during the day but at night it had this darkness looming through it, almost like the souls of all those the Phantomhives had taken were there watching, it was something that would be uncomfortable to most but Sebastian wasn't scared of the dead, he knew better than most that it was the living who should be feared.

…...

The next morning Sebastian got everything ready the same as the day before but when he went into Ciel's room and walked up to the bed he was confused to find that it was empty.

"Its seven in the morning, why would he be up?" Sebastian thought to himself as he went over to the curtains and pulled them open to see if the boy was hiding behind them but there was nothing there but giant window that looked out to the garden. Panic started to set as his thoughts started to race; Ciel was the only son to the Phantomhives fortune. He is a prize to kidnappers. Just then the raven haired man saw movement outside and when he drew his attention on it he was relieved to find it was Ciel sitting on one of the gardens benches. Still Sebastian wasted no time speeding to the boy. He made his way through the halls ignoring all other servants and went out the back door to the kitchen. When the morning air hit him he was grateful he had his coat on.

Ciel was sitting crossed legged on the bench wearing only his night clothes that were not suited for the weather outside; it being winter and almost December this made Sebastian worried. "young master what are you doing out here?" Sebastian surrendered his coat and wrapped it over Ciel's shoulders.

"Nothing. You look upset."

Sebastian let out a sigh that was both a mixture of relief that Ciel was ok and annoyance that the boy made him worried. "You really shouldn't be out here in your night clothes." Seeing that the boy wasn't going to get up Sabastian gave in and sat next to the blue haired teen. When he took in his surroundings he noticed how beautiful it was out here. Even though all the flowers in the garden were dead and reduced to only hard branches from the cold everything was covered in a thin layer of ice and it looked beautiful. One tree had refused to shed its crimson leaves making it the only form of life out here and then Sebastian understood why Ciel wanted to be here. It was different only seeing it from the window, down here it was so much more beautiful.

"I used to play in this garden with my cousin Elizabeth."

"why have you stopped? If it is your wish ill call up your cousin to ask her to come over."

"Don't be absurd Sebastian. I'm not a child anymore and I'd rather not see Lizzy anytime soon."

Ciel was looking at the manor he has been prisoned in most of his life, it seemed he was thinking of something important but there was no way to know what of.

"Why would you not want to see your cousin?"

Ciel broke his gaze on the manor to look into Sebastian's crimson eyes "She's my fiancé now."

For some odd reason this felt wrong to the older male. He knew that royal and noble family's arranged marriages for their children with other noble and royal houses but to think Ciel was part of this and not only that he was engaged so young but also that it was to his own cousin. He had instant pity for the teen. "I'm sure that makes things quite awkward."

Ciel grabbed Sebastian's coat and pulled it closer to himself showing that he was cold. Sebastian suddenly remembered Vincent's warnings of not allowing Ciel outside.

"How about a warm bath? And then I'll make you some hot tea, we have time before your lessons."

Ciel looked at Sebastian and nodded, the boy's face was soft and calm unlike before and it made Sebastian's lips curve into a gentle smile. "come on." He helped Ciel up and not wanting the boy to walk back barefoot he picked him up carrying Ciel bridal style, wrapped in his coat. The teens cheeks turned a slight shade of pink but he allowed the gesture and leaned his head on Sebastian's chest and shoulder, he could feel the teen shaking into his arms.

Sebastian carried Ciel inside and even though he could have placed the boy back down; he didn't. He liked holding Ciel, it felt natural. He made his way to the bathroom and finally let the boy down. "Just give me a moment to fill the tub." Ciel nodded and watched as Sebastian filled the tub and got the fireplace aflame. Once he had everything ready he pulled his coat off of Ciel and undressed the boy.

He lead the blue haired boy to the tub and supported him so he wouldn't fall when he was getting in. It seemed Ciel relaxed when he sat in the warm water. After a few moments he even stopped shaking. With a rag Sebastian started to gently wash Ciel. The boy was quiet today more so then the other days so the older male tried to pull him out of his shell. "Your father warned me you would sneak out. Is there some reason you are not allowed outside?"

Ciel shook his head no and focused on the water. He didn't seem interested in the topic so Sebastian tried to find another one as he started to run his fingers through Ciel's hair with soap causing the pale boy to close his eyes and relax from the feeling of Sebastian's long fingers massaging his scalp. "What would you like to eat for lunch today?"

"anything is fine."

And just like that the conversation was over. Why was Ciel pushing him away?

"Ciel are you okay?" He rinsed the soap out of blue hair being extra careful not get any of the soap subs in his eyes.

"I'm fine" the younger male sad it gently as to try and not cause any alarms in Sebastian but it did the opposite. Something was wrong and he was going to find out what however he had to do this carefully. He knew Ciel was easily angered, when the teen was like this it was like walking on thin ice, every step was dangerous.

"young master, what is it you want to do today? I think I could convince your father to halt your lessons just for today."

Bingo, Ciel looked at him surprised and what seemed like a little bit of…excitement?

"Do you really think he would except."

"I am confident I can make him allow this just for a day my lord." Sebastian was proud of his victory in shifting the young teens mood.

"I would like to…." Ciel stopped for a moment and thought over all the possibility's "I uh…don't know what I want to do." Ciel had been on a strict schedule for so long that he didn't even know what to do with himself off of it. Seemed like it was up to Sebastian.

"I will think of something then." He gently smiled at the younger however Ciel kept a serious face.

"I'll need to be free of any activities by eight in the afternoon, when you had left me with my mother yesterday she had informed me that we were to eat dinner together today with my aunt Anne who is coming in from the city." Ciel seemed to be nervous from the dinner today, was that what was bothering him all this morning?

"Are you not excited to see your aunt?"

"quite the contrary, I am very excited to see her. It is my parents I'm nervous to be around."

That took Sebastian by surprise "Your parents? Don't you see them every day?"

"briefly, with my father's work he's always too busy and my mother is always having meetings with toy inventers and other business counterparts. I, as you well know am always consumed with my studies. When we have dinner together its usually the most time we spend together in months. I both love it and hate it for my own reasons."

Taking in the weird family functions Sebastian replied,

"we shall make the best of it."

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This chapter was actually quite difficult to write. I kept getting distracted by my phone since it is my father's birthday J

It is frustrating however, since he lives in Texas with my mother and I'm all the way out here in California :/

But anyways what do you guys think Ciel is feeling about everything, his future, his family? Let me know ^-^ I love hearing your opinions!


	7. Chapter 7: His health

IMPOTANT NOTICE

For this chapter it be best if I explain how asthma was treated in Victorian era; still to this day asthma is an illness we are unable to cure. So could you imagine in the 1800s? our knowledge has greatly increased from then over the illness because the "cures" that the Victorians had were actually causing more problems than helping.

Most medication in the time was trial and error since the Victorians were still learning how the human body worked (hence the anatomist).

Here are a few ways people were treated for asthma in Victorian England:

*giving the sufferer a cup of strong coffee

*A strong mustard plaster may be applied to the chest.

*allowing the sufferer to breath in smoke

*having them breath in the smoke of burnt nitre paper (basically burning paper that was soaked in salt)

*having them smoke tobacco

*they even believed cigars would cure asthma.

*a change of air (moving to the country)

*giving medication to the sufferer: Laudanum was used on asthma sufferers, Laudanum is basically opium and alcohol mixed with cinnamon (if any of you remember from episodes of kuroshitsuji opium caused a lot of problems: its addicting)

As you can see these are the exact opposite things to do, most people who had asthma had short lives and those with non-serious cases lived their whole lives suffering.

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Most of Sebastian's morning went to trying to convince Vincent to let Ciel off for the day. It was so much harder then he thought it would be. Vincent was more than strict when it came to Ciel but from what he overheard last night he knew that it was just the fathers over protective nature but he also knew that Vincent wished more than anything for Ciel to have a normal childhood; well, that meant games and days off and by Satan Sebastian was going to stop at nothing to get this for the blue haired boy.

The arguing went back and forth over if Ciel should take a break today and weather he should go through his normal routine of difficult lesions. Sebastian was not going to back down however, and finally he broke through to the father of the boy.

Vincent sighed

"Sir, it would be fine for him to miss one day…it's just one day."

"I understand that Sebastian and believe me I want him to relax however, he might take a liking to this and start refusing his lesions whenever he feels he needs some leisure time."

"Ciel is obedient to your orders my lord, if you command it he will be at every lesion you wish but over working him will burn Ciel out. Please take his age into consideration."

Vincent let out an exhale from his lungs and looked at Sebastian analyzing him. "I guess one-time won't hurt. Do not take him outside Sebastian, whatever you are planning do it inside."

"Yes of course, thank you."

"no, thank you Sebastian. For being the first servant to actually care about Ciel."

Vincent gave Sebastian what he thought was a genuine smile and with that he bowed to the slightly older male and left the room. Now the trouble was finding something that Ciel would enjoy that was something he could take part in with a partner, something that would be new to the boy, and something that would be easy to manage indoors. This was harder then he imagined. If Ciel was able to venture outside Sebastian would probably take him to the theater to see hamlet live. He knew it was the boys favorite book considering it was the only book that never seemed to leave the teens night stand and was warn from constant use. Ciel probably read it over and over again.

Wait…maybe he could bring the play to the boy. That's it!

However, all the preparation would take more time then he had, it would seem Ciel would have to wait till tomorrow. Luckily Vincent already agreed, changing the day shouldn't be that hard explaining it to Ciel however might prove difficult surly he would think it will just continue to be "pushed back".

When he found Ciel the boy was waiting for him eagerly in his own library but once Sebastian walked in the boy tried to act as if he wasn't waiting or excited. This made the taller male chuckle to himself.

"What's so damn funny?"

Attitude of a bull, and so early too.

"I talked to your father, you will be glad to know he approved, however it shall be tomorrow that you get your leisure time."

Ciel seemed taken aback, it was apparent that although he was hopeful his father would say yes that he somehow didn't think it would actually happen and now that it was he didn't know how to react.

"Did he really say yes?"

"yes young master. I wouldn't lie." Sebastian place his hand over his heart and slightly bowed.

"What's the plan for tomorrow then?" Sebastian couldn't understand what it was Ciel had painted on his face, something between a mix of astonishment and disbelief.

Giving Ciel a smile he only said "It's a surprise."

…..

The day passed with Ciel going through all his lesions as he normally did but he seemed a little different from the other days and Sebastian didn't quite know why but he liked to believe the boy was different because he was excited.

During Ciel's last session: independent study, a beautiful woman with short red hair barged in, she was wearing a red dress made of silk and was just as pale as Ciel but what Sebastian noticed right away was that this woman also had red eyes. All of a sudden he realized why Ciel never seemed to be bothered by his red eyes. The blue haired teen was used to it.

Ciel placed his book down from the sudden invasion and looked at his aunt surprised.

"My darling Ciel!" She walked up to him smiling and gently placed a hand on the boy's cheek.

"Madam Red? Your early."

"For god's sake Ciel call me auntie Anne like when you were little." She messed up the younger teens hair to show her frustrations. Ciel stood up and walked in front of his aunt to give her proper respects and she attacked him in a hug the boy stiffened desperate to get free "Why haven't you grown?" she jested and it seemed to aggravate Ciel. Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle and that was unfortunate because it cased Madam Reds attention to shift to him. "And who might this handsome man be?" She smiled at Sebastian still not releasing Ciel.

Sebastian smiled at her and said charmingly "how rude of me to not introduce myself, my name is Sebastian."

"Wow Ciel where did you find him?" Finally letting go of the boy he straitened his clothes and looked at his aunt then Sebastian "He's my new servant."

She smiled and looked back at Ciel. "Your mother requested that I check your health while I'm here."

Ciel sighed in annoyance "I'm fine auntie." It was pleasing to hear Ciel address his aunt in such a childish manner but Sebastian knew why he was saying it; the boy was trying to manipulate her to get what he wanted and that was for her to leave the subject of his health. At this point Sebastian was wondering if Ciel was ill when he was younger. He remembered Rachel saying his nose bleeds started when he was four years of age and that's the same age when Ciel stated his eyes changed color.

"Sorry kiddo, you're not getting out of this one, you know how stressed your mother gets."

Madam red grabbed the chair from Ciel's desk and placed it in the middle of the room. "Sit there, I need to go get my bag." She then looked and the raven haired man "Make sure he doesn't try to escape. He has a tendency to try and avoid these things." Sebastian nodded in understanding and she left the room.

Ciel sighed in submission and sat on the wooden chair. The room was filled with silence until Sebastian broke it.

"Young master?"

"Hm?"

"Are you ill?"

Ciel looked at the older male and thought of his response before he spoke "I have asthma."

The boy said it so nonchalant like it wasn't anything important but this was vital information, hundreds of people died a year because of asthma and there was no cure for it. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"

"I'm telling you now."

"Master if you were to have an attack and I was unaware-"

"Then I would have died. I know Sebastian but I haven't had an attack in over a year."

Something was wrong; Ciel was hiding something from him but what was it? Before he could question the teen more the woman dressed in red returned carrying a medical bag. "You know the drill Ciel, take off your shirt." Ciel only looked at Sebastian and he obediently complied careful taking off the boy's shirt. The teen looked uncomfortable but it was most likely due to being in a vulnerable and exposed state in front of someone other than Sebastian.

Anne pulled out her stethoscope from her bag and she started to check the boys heart rate "Your mother told me you had another nose bleed yesterday?"

"Yes, it wasn't as bad as she plays it out to be."

"In the city I've been doing some research with my patients who also have asthma, I found that out of ten, one will have nose bleeds randomly. We're not sure if its tied to asthma just yet but it's a possibility."

Lady Anne switched the stethoscope to Ciel's back to listen to his lungs while she instructed him to breathe in and out. Sebastian thought this a perfect time to ask the red lady about Ciel's asthma.

"if I may ask, what would be the best thing to do in the event of an attack?"

She seemed confused as to why Sebastian wouldn't know already considering he was always by the young boy's side, "well, normally if he has a small attack giving him strong coffee should work. However, if its serious he will need his medication and you will have to burn nitre paper in the room so he can breathe that in."

"he has medication?"

"Ciel why didn't you tell him?" She glared at her nephew and he responded by shrugging but was clearly embarrassed Sebastian was finding out some of his weaknesses.

"He takes Laudanum. If you ever need to find it; it should be in his night stand."

He nodded letting her continue to examine the frail boy, Sebastian couldn't help let his mind wonder. Laudanum was a strong drug and it made him uncomfortable that someone as young as Ciel was taking it.

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Hello again,

I just wanted to thank everyone that stayed with me throughout this story and those of you who also read my other story that is also part of this one.

I'm starting to think this story will be longer then Dark Dreams was because I'm mapping out Ciel and Sebastian's bond. I want it to be in depth.


	8. Chapter 8: Conflict

My chapters have been short so far and I completely didn't notice! So I promise to bring you longer chapters after this one!

CHAPTER 8 GO!

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"Looks like you're okay. Maybe your growing out of it." The lady in red smiled at her nephew and started to pack all her equipment back into her bag. Sebastian took this time to put Ciel's shirt back on.

"I told you I was fine. Mother over exaggerated."

"I bet you didn't know, but your mother was just as sick as you growing up. There was even a time when she couldn't walk for months and we had her in a wheel chair. It's actually the reason I became a doctor; I wanted to help her. So if you ever feel she's smothering you just remember it's just because she doesn't want you to suffer the way she did."

When Sebastian looked at the younger male he was surprised to see the shock on Ciel's face, seems he was unaware of this information but Sebastian couldn't blame him. Looking at Rachel now, he couldn't imagine she was that ill in the past. She glowed with health and youth, she looked as though she was in her twenties even though she was probably in her late thirty's.

They could hear footsteps coming and once they got to the door it opened to reveal Vincent.

"Hello Vincent, perfect timing we are all done." She gave the bluenette man a gentle smile but there was something else there Sebastian noticed but he couldn't quite pin point it.

"Beautiful as ever Anne, I apologize for not greeting you earlier I had a business call." His smile was much like hers as he gently took her hand and kissed it in respect. "how is Ciel?"

Madam Reds whole demeanor changed it was gentle and soft, the same as a young teen girl. "Ciel is doing wonderful, his breathing has improved from last time, I would still like that he be treated with caution however, I think he's healthy enough to venture outside again."

Vincent looked at his son who was staring at Anne wide eyed and dumbfounded from hearing he might be able to go outside until his gaze switched to his father wearing the same expression waiting for Vincent's answer, how long has it been that Ciel has been locked inside besides his visit to London? From the child's skin tone Sebastian assumed years.

"I don't know Anne…I don't want to risk it after last time." Vincent responded and just like that all of Ciel's excitement left him. The older bluenette seeing this went to Ciel and kneeled in front of him so that he could be level with his son "Ciel, I'm just trying to be safe…I love you, and I can't put you in danger."

Ciel looked so sad, it was probably the saddest Sebastian ever saw the boy and in response the teen didn't say a word just nodded his head in understanding while looking into his father's eyes. At that moment Tanaka knocked on the door to come in and Vincent called out "come in."

Tanaka opened the door and bowed in respect to his Master and his family "Dinner is ready my lord"

"Thank you Tanaka, we will be right down."

…..

It was strange watching a wealthy family have dinner together, it wasn't like anything Sebastian ever experienced. No one just sat down and took food and started eating. It was like a process with strong manners and etiquette, he had never seen Ciel the way he was here. First everyone was standing and Vincent thanked Anne for sharing her presence with them then he gave the okay for everyone to sit; Rachel and Anne sat down first which was custom for wealthy family's to have the lady's sit down first. Then Vincent and his son sat down being the males. No one had their elbows on the table and all sat in the chairs straight with strict posture. Each course was taken out one after the other and it was weird to him that the whole family ate slowly and made special care not to make any sounds of chewing or swallowing. Sebastian thought back to Tanaka's pointers before this dinner started.

"You need to be very attentive to your master's plate, he's not allowed to tell you if he doesn't like a serving, Its bad manners. So after a plate is place in front of him; if he doesn't touch it after a few moments take it away. No one on the table is to ask for seconds on the first serving of soup, that's also bad manners. If you see the wine or in Ciel's case water in the glass run out, pour more but only from their right side. Do not speak unless spoken to. You might be surprised as to how quietly they will eat; this is because its bad etiquette to make noises. Ill handle everyone else, all you need to do is attend to Ciel you will find it to be simple since children are not to talk freely at the table unless, like you, spoken to."

The old man's tips helped out a lot because if he wasn't given them the raven haired man would have voiced his confusion.

Watching Ciel through this dinner was irritating, not because Ciel was doing anything wrong, in fact the boy was perfectly trained, but that was just it; Sebastian hated that the boy was trained like a dog. What was the point of eating like this? He could imagine how Ciel must have had to sit through lesions on how to sit at a table with strict manners when he was younger…what a waste of time.

However, it made Sebastian a little happy that this was not the Ciel that he saw when the boy ate when it was just them two. With all the lunch and dinners the two shared together Ciel was normally comfortable and didn't sit straight or keep his elbows off the table, he also talked freely. Right now however, the child was displaying everything his parents wanted to see.

That's when Sebastian decided to watch the rest of the family, Rachel and Anne shared memories of their childhood and that showed Sebastian that the two were sisters. He also noticed Anne had a fondness with the host of the table, she smiled at Vincent with so much love and she would glance at him when no one else was looking, the raven haired man finally figured out what it was he couldn't pin point earlier; desire and longing. Anne was in love with Vincent who was married to her sister Rachel. How interesting. He wondered if the two were having an affair.

Slowly Sebastian was realizing that wealthy families were poisoned.

"oh Anne I wish you could stay longer." Rachel lovingly spoke to her sister.

"I wish I could to but I have to be back in the city by tomorrow, I have too much work."

Vincent then joined "Anne you could just stay here and we will pay you as Ciel's personal doctor."

"I would love that more than anything Vincent however I can't just drop my other patients."

"Or you can't be this close to the man you love and not have him. Too painful." Sebastian thought to himself.

"The offer is always open if you are to change your mind." One thing about Vincent that was apparent was that he had charm and it was obvious he used it as a weapon. Sebastian could never tell when the man was faking his politeness or being sincere.

Anne Shifted her attention to Ciel who was eating quietly and politely. "Ciel sweetie, what have you been up to this past year?"

Rachel Answered for her son "He's been learning Latin."

"Latin huh? That's an old language, what ever would you need to know that for?"

This time Ciel answered "So that I can be five steps ahead of those who want to skin me."

Sebastian sighed, "attitude of a bull" he repeated Vincent's words in his mind. It was easy to tell Ciel was mocking his father, had the boy finally snapped? Vincent gave his son a warning glare.

Rachel seemed uneasy "Ciel, we are teaching you Latin so you can read old scrips."

Anne added in "no one is trying to kill you sweetie."

Ciel scoffed and kept his dead eyes on his father "Is that so? Father is it true? No one is trying to kill me? Then I guess I can stop my lesions here." Ciel's voice was full of sarcasm.

Vincent's voice was strong "Ciel stop. I'm only doing this to protect you."

"Protect me?! oh I get it, that's why your sending me to the underworld, to protect me! just throw me with all the murderers and rapist, I'll be so protected!" the anger was rolling off the teen like waves. Sebastian just witnessed the boy snap.

"CIEL!" Vincent glared at his son with authority and strength that his son was no match against. Ciel understanding that the situation was already out of hand stood up and looked at his mother "May I be excused?" she nodded knowing that if she refused the scene would become out of hand, and with that Ciel left the room.

Vincent sighed and looked at Sebastian "Sebastian please follow him and make sure he calms down."

"Yes my lord." Sebastian was grateful he was allowed to leave, he wanted to help Ciel more than serve these people food.

…..

When he entered Ciel's room the boy was playing on his chess table however his brows were angled down showing the boys frustration and anger.

"Young master..."

"I wish I was born into a different family!" the bluenette violently swung his arm over the bored knocking the pieces to the floor. "He keeps saying he wants to protect me as he throws me into a snake pit!" Ciel stood up and looked at Sebastian, the boy was breathing harder than usual and he seemed full of rage. "I hate him! I hate this stupid place!"

"Young master…please consider how lucky you are to have a home and family, maybe they are not perfect and yes you have some difficult situations up ahead but you have food and a bed, your family truly loves you."

"SHUT UP SEBASTIAN! Can't you see this is hell?" Ciel placed his hands on his face in a frustrated motion then threw them down "You were so lucky not to know your parents or to be forced to follow in their damn foot prints! I don't want to be my father!"

"Did you just say I was lucky?" Sebastian felt his blood boiling.

"Sebastian you have no idea what it feels like to be trapped! THIS IS HELL!"

Sebastian couldn't control his anger anymore he grabbed Ciel violently and slammed the small boy into the wall, who let out a pained sound. The taller male wasn't done however he grabbed Ciel's hair roughly and forced the boy to look up at him.

"You have NO idea what hell is like! What it's like to have no one love you, no one to feed you, no one to nurse you when you're sick. What it's like to be used and abused by everyone around you, to watch your friends murdered in front of you and not have the power to stop it! Or having a grown man pull down your pants! You are a spoiled brat! You sleep in silk and eat off of bone china yet you cry "hell"!

You say I don't know what it feels like to be trapped, have you forgotten I've spent most of my life in a cage!? Only let out to be fucked by some old man or to be some other man's punching bag! Even now I'm chained to your family's last name! forever a servant to the spoiled!"

Ciel looked terrified but was trying to show strength that was not there, Sebastian released Ciel realizing he had harmed the boy.

The bluenette let out a breath and then looked back up at Sebastian "How dare you talk to me like that…" he hissed full of rage and fear.

"How dare I? Why can't I speak to you like this? Tell me! I want you to say it."

"Because…."

"Because what Ciel?" It was the first time he spoke the boy's name, Ciel didn't respond so Sebastian spoke up "Because I'm below you, say it! It's because I was born from a slut and you were born from an Earl. SAY IT!"

"ITS BECAUSE YOU ARE BELOW ME!" Ciel finally screamed out, the frail teen seemed sad now as if he was about to cry, but Sebastian was still full of anger he didn't want to speak anymore, he looked at the blue haired boy before him one more time, pressed his lips and tightened his jaw, then turned his back to the bluenette leaving the room and heading to his.

…

When Sebastian got to his room he sat on his bed and sighed. Did he really just yell at Ciel? And on top of that he harmed him. Placing his head in his hands he sighed, what was going to happen now? Was he going to be punished or killed? He wasn't allowed to quit Vincent already warned him he could only leave in a coffin, but the truth was he didn't want to leave. Not even after this fight however it was common sense that Ciel probably hated him now.

Why did he say those things? Why did he yell his past pains to Ciel? Normally he would have just kept that all to himself, did it still hurt him? Sebastian couldn't help but think he bottled it all up…did he just snap? The truth was he wanted Ciel to become someone he could trust and someone he could share his pain with, and it hurt more then he imagined when he remembered that the world is not kind. Ciel was a child of wealth and status and him? A street rat, it wasn't even appropriate for the two to be friends. Just master and servant.

How amusing, they both snapped today.

Suddenly he felt bad for yelling at Ciel, the boy was going through a lot. The sudden guilt made him lay on his bed and look up to the ceiling. Ciel was going through so much and he wasn't blind to it; he was caged in his own way as well. It was different from his confinement. Ciel's wings were clipped and Sebastian's were ripped off.

He sighed and allowed his eyes to close, Sebastian was tired, not physically but emotionally. He slowly started to drift into sleep with only the multicolored eye boy on his mind.

…..he wanted to teach Ciel to fly.

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So this was a powerful chapter, Ciel finally let his feelings of being trapped out and Sebastian also let out his frustrations that he bottled up for years.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter. As always I love hearing your opinions and thoughts over what Ciel and Sebastian are feeling and going through.


	9. Chapter 9: forgiveness

So deadpool is coming out today and I'm going to go see it after work (the time when I normally write my next chapter) so I have to apologize ahead of time for not updating tonight, I've been waiting two years for this movie so I'm not going to miss it on opening night :p

So with that said I want to thank everyone for your patients.

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Sebastian woke to the sound of gentle knocks on his door, he tiredly looked at his almost burnt out candles and realized he fell asleep, what time was it? With the dim light of the candles he gazed at the door, it was probably Tanaka summoning him to Vincent. This was the moment, he was either dead or going to be beaten, sighing he sat up from the bed, the raven haired man never changed out of his suit before he had fallen asleep only taking the jacket off revealing the white button up shirt underneath, so he didn't have to change into something appropriate before allowing whoever was on the other side in. He simply sat up on his bed and said "Come in."

The door slowly opened and to his surprise it wasn't Tanaka, it was Ciel. The boy was in his night shirt that was much too big for him and hung to his mid thighs he held himself with extreme awkwardness. Sebastian looked at him a little shocked and confused, it was extremely rare for the household to go into the servant's quarters most of the time they sent another servant to fetch whomever they needed, but what was most shocking was that Ciel was here after Sebastian had just yelled at him and harmed him, or was that a few hours ago? How long was he asleep?

Ciel walked in and closed the door behind him and went to stand in front of his butler who was still sitting on the bed. Sebastian saw the child was holding a small black box.

"Sebastian…I'm sorry." It looked like it took all of Ciel's courage to come here and say that, the teen looked like he had not slept yet and it seemed he pushed his pride aside to come down here and apologize, he couldn't help but let out a gentle smile at the blue haired boy.

"I just…I was so mad, but I shouldn't have directed it toward you. You have already done so much for me and I'm grateful for you…you are not below me…I feel like…we are equals." This was hard for Ciel and it showed on his face, he couldn't imagine the bluenette ever apologized to anyone before and his silence was making Ciel more nervous.

"…Sebastian…please say something…"

But he didn't say anything, instead he grabbed Ciel's wrist and pulled the boy to him in an embrace. He hugged the teen tightly to him placing his head in the curve of the teens neck. Ciel, who was suddenly taken aback from the sudden hug and stiffened but as he realized this was Sebastian way of saying he forgave him the younger male slowly started to return the hug.

Ciel felt so small and fragile in the older male's arms and he loved it. "Thank you." Sebastian whispered into Ciel's ear it was a loving notion, the teen gently pulled away to hand the him the black box he was carrying.

"What's this?" The raven haired man examined the box then looked at Ciel.

"It's a gift…open it."

Gently pulling the top of the box off he revealed a white gold pocket watch with intricate designs engraved with not only one, but five red beryl emeralds contained to co-exist with the designs and match them perfectly; they were the same color as his eyes, engraved into the top was Sebastian's initials, after taking it out of the box he opened it and inside he was surprised to find that the hands of the watch were built into a black opal, it glimmered in the dim light. Knowing that black opals were very rare and that they had to be transported from Australia, and red beryl's from North America, he wondered how Ciel managed to get him this within hours.

But more importantly; this watch was worth more than a ship and Ciel gave it to him…a servant. He looked up at the boy who was now blushing from embarrassment. "young master, I can't except this…this is-"

"You can and you will."

He chuckled at the boy's persistence and embarrassment. "Thank you."

Ciel sat down next to him on his bed and something arose in Sebastian; Déjà vu. He felt a strange feeling of a familiar moment. Ciel sitting on his bed next to him caused it however they never shared this memory before so how could that be?

"Does it still bother you?..." Ciel's voice sent him back to the present and he let his gaze drop to the boy's hands, he didn't know why he wanted to look at them but somehow they comforted him; they were skinny and petite and a weird urge to hold them arouse but he pushed that back into the part of his mind it came from.

"Does what still bother me?"

"Your childhood…growing up in the underworld of London…" Ciel was avoiding looking at Sebastian he was looking down at his own feet and it was apparent the younger male never spoke of feelings more than he had today.

"I didn't think it did however, today the part of me that I thought I had left behind arouse to the surface. To be honest, I watch you live this way and…I can't help but be envious."

"I can't make you forget your past…but I can make a better future for you." Ciel said finally looking up at Sebastian and the older male responded by gazing back into Ciel's different colored eyes.

"It's already much better…although I'm envious of my master, as I said before he's very kind and I want to serve him for the rest of my life."

Ciel's ears and cheeks had turned a shade of pink, if the boy wasn't so pale Sebastian wouldn't have had noticed. Ciel had the features of an angle and at that moment he wondered how handsome he would be when he grew to be an adult. the blue haired teen didn't respond so Sebastian took the time to address his earlier behaver.

"However I should apologize to you for both my tone and becoming violent with You. I know you are going through something quite troubling as well. Soon you will have to become the murderer your father is and control the underworld, we both know that means working alongside killers or being killed yourself. It must be terrifying, but please know that I'll stand by your side; even if it means being on the other side of the coin from my torment." Sebastian wondered how he came to care so much for this boy he had only known for such a short time, he was willing to put other people through the pain he went through just to stand by Ciel but it was also a bitter sweet thought to work alongside the Phantomhives. It would mean that all those who treated the raven haired man like trash before would be under him. Well, more correctly, under his master.

Ciel released a breath and let his gaze fall back to his feet, was that another nervous response the teen had?

"I feel trapped but I'm sure you know that, I don't want to have to watch my back every step I take. A piece of me hates my father, but I know he never imagined the day he would have a family and need to pass this curse on. I also hate being locked away like some frail bird. I just want a normal life however… I'm a Phantomhive, our normal is being the darkness demons fear."

"Then until you have to start fighting for your life, let's make the most of this."

The sadness in the bluenette's eyes puzzled Sebastian.

"I'm already fighting for my life."

What in the world did he mean by that? He wouldn't start work for his father until he was eighteen, he heard Vincent say that himself. Was he lying? did he have his son already taking over? No. that couldn't be it, these past few days he hadn't left Ciel's side and there was no way he was working as a guard dog yet. Did he mean the people that were trying to kill his family? Like when the fire took the mansion?

"Your fathers fighting for you now my lord, you shouldn't have to worry until you are eighteen."

"I'm fighting a different battle Sebastian, with something unseen."

Before he could question it further Ciel got up and walked to the door showing he was done talking for the night. "Don't worry about everything today…I also forgive you." With that the teen left the room leaving Sebastian alone with his thoughts.

The pocket watch in his hand was pointing to the twelve "So it is midnight." He spoke to no one in particular. It would be best for him to try to sleep more, he still had a lot to do for Ciel's day off tomorrow. Maybe if he was careful with his words he could get Ciel to tell him what it was the boy kept hiding from him.

….

The next day he woke Ciel later than usual, since today was a treat he wanted him to sleep in for once, Sebastian himself however didn't sleep at all, he couldn't seem to fall back into the unknown after Ciel had left his room, so he stayed up getting everything ready.

The first part of his plan was to bathe Ciel however the teen seemed unwilling and Sebastian had to pick the boy up and take him to the bathroom.

"No Sebastian! I don't want to bathe!" Ciel tried to fight but he was weak compared to the taller male, it was futile.

"Would you rather offend those around you with your sent young master?"

"Don't be dramatic! I bathed yesterday, I smell fine!" when Sebastian placed him down Ciel turned his back to Sebastian as he tried to push away from the older male. He was trying to take the younger males shirt off but Ciel was holding it down with all his might.

"You should bathe everyday my lord its good for your health." He finally managed to pull off the shirt of the squirming child, only to reveal a large purple and black bruise on Ciel's right shoulder blade. Suddenly he stopped and so did Ciel's squirming as the room fell silent from the gravity of the situation. He didn't need to ask the boy where he got it, he already knew. It was from when he slammed Ciel up against the wall the other day, Ciel was refusing a bath not because he didn't want one but because he was trying to protect Sebastian from the guilt.

Sebastian was consumed with shame, he had hurt Ciel and it was the worst feeling he had experienced, the worse part was how hard the boy fought to protect him from it. It meant Ciel cared about his feelings, he hurt someone who cares about him.

"…it doesn't hurt" Ciel tried to pull Sebastian back from the dark place his mind had just ventured to but to no avail; Sebastian didn't respond, more like he couldn't. He knew nothing he said would fix this so he chose to just continue silently.

Sebastian managed to take the rest of Ciel's clothes off and get him into the tub, while washing the boy he took special care not to hurt the bruise but when he had to wash the teens back the boy silently hissed in discomfort making Sebastian's guilt deepen.

It was silent for what seemed like forever until Ciel grabbed Sebastian's hand and laid his head into it, his hand was being held on the boy's cheek as Ciel closed his eyes. It was such a small gesture but something about it made him feel a little better. With Sebastian's free hand he tucked the boy's hair behind his hear.

No words needed to be spoken, they both understood each other's feelings, forgiveness and understanding.

At that moment one of the maids came in with towels causing Ciel to let go of Sebastian's hand and Sebastian to play it off as if he was just washing the boy. It seemed that the maid came in to restock the towels every day at the same time but since Ciel's schedule was a little different today they ran into each other at the most unfortunate of times.

"Oh master Ciel! I'm so sorry I didn't know you were in-" She halted mid-sentence when she saw the bruise. "I uh…Should leave you be." The maid quickly left.

Ciel was the first to break the silence between the two "…I'll say I fell."

Sebastian nodded but he would be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit of anxiety and dread, he could only hope that that maid didn't say anything but he knew she would. It was common sense that Vincent must have spies in the manor, along with loyal servants.

His worries must have been showing on his face because suddenly Ciel moved in the tub so that he was perfectly facing Sebastian "Sebastian, it will be alright."

Seeing Ciel so concerned about him made him smile, it was the most wonderful feeling knowing someone finally cared about him and it almost made him forget his worries. Almost.

Once Ciel was all washed Sebastian gently pulled him out and wrapped the boy in a fluffy white towel. He didn't want to dry Ciel in fear he would once again irritate the bruise so he allowed the boy to do it himself. There was something odd that he just now noticed; Ciel was slightly paler. Was that possible? He needed to get this boy some sun before he turned unpigmented. Sebastian dressed Ciel in dark blue today, he seemed to like that color the most on him. He found black made the boys skin look too white and bright colors like red made him look too young. Shades like gray and blue made Ciel look a little older and matched his skin and eyes well. Also he had to keep in mind the wealthy class and their view on colors, even though he wouldn't Sebastian couldn't dress Ciel all in all black because that would mean the child was in mourning so if he tied in black he needed to mix it with some sort of splash of color to avoid the boy being thought to have had a recent death.

"Young master, please accompany me to the dance hall."

"Pease tell me we are not dancing." The bluenette seemed more worried then upset, Sebastian just learned something new; Ciel didn't like dancing.

"No I promise you won't have to do anything to strain yourself."

Gaining Ciel's trust the boy followed the older man through the corridors to the main dance hall. Immediately the child looked around amazed. Normally this giant hall was empty until Vincent hosted a party but even then there was only tables and chairs brought in with a few other entertainments like food and music. However, Sebastian had brought in a make shift stage that took up the first portion of the room, large heavy scarlet curtains hung at the sides of the stage as a real theater would. The light was dimed except for the stage that was lighted up perfectly from the chandelier that was hanging above it. There was a row of chairs in front of the stage that both knew only served the purpose of making it feel like a real theater. They only needed one chair for Ciel.

"Sebastian how did you manage this?" the teen was completely besotted but Sebastian didn't want to tell the boy he stayed up all night setting everything up. He wanted to keep the magic alive. Also he did have some help using the child's last name, most would be surprised how fast and top notch something will get done when you tell someone "it's requested from the Phantomhives"

"Have you ever been to a theater before my lord?"

"Once, in London when I was too young to remember."

"Well I promise you will remember this time."

Sebastian lead Ciel to a Chair in the front row right in the middle, him being a servant wasn't allowed to sit next to the boy, or even sit down at all so he stood at the side of the room. He knew Ciel wouldn't mind him sitting with him however, if someone were to walk in it would be improper and they both knew that.

The curtains parted fully revealing the stage and its props; Sebastian had hired actors from London theater and had them travel all the way out here. He wanted Ciel to experience a true performance even if he was locked away in this mansion.

The play began but Sebastian didn't much hold his interest on hamlet, it was Ciel he was watching and his features softened while he let out a smile when he saw the boy watching the actors in pure innocent happiness. It was already apparent this was one of the blue haired boy's favorite memories.

Sebastian had successfully given Ciel a moment where he had nothing to worry about, where he could just be a kid excited about his favorite characters. Leaving the world behind even for just this moment.

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Like I said earlier the next chapter will be about a day late so please wait up for me.

Also I'm hoping it's not getting confusing about how Sebastian has déjà vu in this chapter, its pointing back to a previous life the two shared that was explained in Dark Dreams.

See you all next time!


	10. Chapter 10: His illness

And I'm back!

DEADPOOL WAS AMAZING!

But more importantly, thank you everyone for waiting and being patient. I struggle with severe depression and a few years ago I had attempted to commit suicide, when I was released from the hospital a few months went by of just lying in bed crying. One day my brother come over and gave me a game; it was deadpool. I played it and for the first time in a whole year I smiled and laughed. After that my whole family would gift me with deadpool comics. And I would read them to keep my mood up.

So this movie was a big deal for me. So thank you to all who waited for me during this time ^.^

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The day was pleasing for the both of them, the play took most of the day and it lifted Ciel's Spirit extensively, the boy seemed so care free for the rest of the day and it was the first time Sebastian saw him like that. When the play was over Ciel asked to read a horror book for his leisure time so when Sebastian found one that would be to his liking the boy laid on a sofa by the window in the drawing room and consumed himself in the novel.

Sebastian took this time to attend to the rest of his chorus for the day, just because Ciel had the day off didn't mean he did. He cleaned the boys room, cleaned out the ash from the fire places, dusted, and straightened everything up. While he was placing books Ciel had stored in his room into their proper place in the mansions library he ran into Tanaka who was sitting on one of the oak chairs that was covered in cushion, taking a break from his age.

"Hello Sebastian" The graying man said to him.

"Hello Tanaka, are you not well?"

"Oh no, my health is fine. It's my age that pulls me back." Tanaka smiled at the crimson eyed man

Sebastian knew that there was no such thing as retiring for their class of people, he and everyone in the serving class will work for the rest of their lives but he didn't know how much longer Tanaka could hold out.

"Pardon my rudeness, but...Would the Phantomhives allow you to retire considering your age?"

Tanaka let out a gentle laugh, the type grandfathers spouted out when their grandchildren amuse them.

"I know you are not quite fond of Master Vincent but I've been his butler since he was a little younger than Ciel's age, he's a gentle loving person unlike any other I've seen. He actually asked me to retire, he even offered me a room in the manor and servants of my own to help me as I age but I refused him."

That was quite surprising, Sebastian never heard of a master asking his servant to retire, it was always the other way around or the master firing them, and on top of it, to be so kind as to offer a room and servants. Vincent must of cared deeply for this butler. He couldn't help but wonder if this was what it would be like for him in the future serving Ciel. Would Ciel offer him to retire and live comfortably in his age? Would Ciel be like Vincent and have a wife and Children? The thought kind of harmed him. He didn't want to watch Ciel marry and have Children, he also suddenly hated his age gap between him and his master. Would he be old and gray while Ciel is still young and at his prime like the way Tanaka and Vincent are? It was obvious the two didn't share the same relationship he and Ciel shared. Tanaka was like a father to Vincent but it still unnerved him to think of his future.

"Why did you refuse master Vincent's offer?"

"Because I didn't want to sit back and watch, I want to serve him until the day I die."

Where did Sebastian hear that line before? Oh yeah, he said it to Ciel.

"Sebastian, this family is special. Each member is beautiful inside and out. They love deeply and are the type to do everything in their power to protect the ones they love however they are cursed. With beauty comes pain."

"I'm not quite following. How are they cursed?"

"Well they attract people with this appeal they have, everyone wants to be a Phantomhive. Just look at them; all the money in the world, they all are gifted geniuses, Vincent is now forty-seven years old however he looks to be in his early thirty's. So beauty follows them." that part shocked Sebastian, Vincent was almost fifty years old? How could that be? He looked as Tanaka just mentioned, not a day past thirty.

"however tragedy follows them, I'm telling you this because if you are going to stay you need to be prepared. Anyone who ties themselves with them experiences tragedy as well."

"What do you mean? Are you saying tragedy will be fall me?" Sebastian asked the old man

"Possibly. Let me help you understand the gravity of this curse. Vincent went through the same struggles Ciel did with becoming the queens guard dog and he is constantly struggling to keep his own family alive. There are snippers on the roof right now and at all times, all the servants have been trained to fight, the forest surrounding the manor is full of Vincent's men who stand guard but he hides it all so his wife and Child can live comfortably, them unknowing. If he makes one wrong move, his whole family will be killed. That's a lot for one man to hold on his shoulders, and it does weigh him down.

Rachel has gone in and out of sickness her whole life, suffers from asthma, and has had six of her children die. Four Before Ciel and two after him. All stillbirths. As you can imagine that has caused her to develop anxiety over the possibility of losing her only Child that lived. On top of that the only one that lives, lives on the line of life and death.

Anne as I'm sure you noticed is in love with Vincent who is married to her older sister, when she finally settled for another man and found she was pregnant; a carriage hit her and her husband as they were walking. Killing him instantly and making her lose her unborn child as well. She is unable to have Children now, so sometimes she likes to pretend Ciel is hers.

Ciel, as I mentioned, is gravely ill. Growing up he had such severe asthma attacks that he was bed ridden for months at a time. He also has a low immune system, it's almost non-existent. So the boy is not allowed to go outside since something as simple as the common cold can kill him.

The boy has almost died five times due to illness in his thirteen years of life, in fact he has baffled his doctors surviving this long. No one thought he would live past five. No one except Vincent, who kept his faith in his son.

Many believe that all the people the Phantomhives have killed have cursed them and anyone who loves them."

Sebastian soaked in the information he was just given but the one that latched on to him was how sick Ciel was in the past, was that what the boy was hiding from him? The fact that he can be killed by the common cold? Was this the unseen threat the boy was talking about?

"When was the last time Master Ciel became that Sick?" this was critical information and he was wondering why no one informed him of it before.

"Seven weeks before your employment here, he had a coughing fit and ended up in bed for a week."

Sebastian had no idea, the boy did look frail and pale but he couldn't imagine him being deathly ill. This must be the reason Ciel looked so much smaller for his age, he used to see it all the time in the factory; children who were ill and malnourished. It stunted their growth, mostly because the body stops its function to grow to focus on trying to heal and fight whatever is infecting the small body. Why didn't he notice it sooner? He guessed it was because he saw that Ciel was wealthy and in his mind the life style the rich boy lived would not have similarity's to that of a child who lived in the factory. But the truth was, there was some. illness doesn't care if you are poor or wealthy and neither does death.

"Why didn't master Vincent tell me this? What if the young lord got ill and I didn't know what was happening?" there was anger in his tone. He felt he was cheated in a way. After all the pain of losing friends in the underworld Sebastian made it a point not to befriend or grow feelings for someone who had a small chance of survival, to protect himself from unwanted emotional pain. So when a child was locked away with him who was weak the raven haired man would be emotionally detached. It always worked because those kids were always the ones that died and Sebastian would be numb but now he wasn't given a choice, not knowing of Ciel's illness meant that he couldn't put up any walls that would have stop him from getting emotionally attached to him. Now it was too late, there was a fondness he held for the blue haired teen meaning if Ciel died. It would hurt him.

It was time to pull away.

Sebastian couldn't allow himself to be hurt anymore.

"He probably didn't tell you in the beginning because master Vincent didn't know if he could trust you, what do you think would happen if one of his many enemies found out that the only heir to the Phantomhive was not capable because he was ill, the queen wouldn't waste her time. The only people that know of Ciel's condition are the loyal servants, the family and the child's loyal doctors. Vincent was keen on keeping Ciel out of the public view.

Ciel on the other hand probably didn't tell you because it's something that he himself doesn't want to except, Its embarrassing for him. His whole life he's been seen as weak while he's the first born son who's supposed to be the image of strength and ability. It's a matter of his pride."

That would explain a lot.

"Sebastian now that you know this information, I really hope you don't ask to be transferred to the summer home or London house. Master Ciel…he has had no friends so servants are the closest he can get to having a friendship. Once they knew he was ill they would transfer as to not be hurt. Everyone kept leaving him. It hardened Ciel. That's one of the reasons now he drives people away with his attitude he doesn't want to go through it anymore. As Vincent told you when he hired you that none of the servants can handle Ciel, I personally think he tries to push them away. There's something special about you. By staying you allowed him to open up to you a little and put some form of trust in you. He asked me to help him get something made for you, I'm sure you have it by now."

"The watch." Sebastian suddenly understood how Ciel was able to get the pocket watch done in a few hours, Tanaka helped him. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the beautiful time teller.

"If you leave, you will crush him."

It was all Tanaka needed to say for Sebastian to feel completely guilty for even thinking of closing himself off to Ciel.

The old man got up and stretched out his back that seemed to be giving him problems "well I should get back, oh I should inform you that because of the cold, the pipes on the upper level have burst. We sent for someone to fix it but they will not arrive till morning." With that said Tanaka left the room.

Sebastian now knowing of Ciel's health risks wanted to go and check on him and he did just that but when he went into the room he found the boy had fallen asleep on the sofa. The book had slipped from his hands and found a resting place on the floor. Ciel looked so peaceful and calm.

Sebastian watched Ciel's chest as it slowly moved up and down as the boy's lungs filled and released air. quietly he went to him and very gently ran his fingers through Ciel's blue-gray hair. Relaxing the bluenette in his sleep.

He stayed like that for a while, petting Ciel's hair as he slept, there was a sad look on Sebastian's face. He knew that a lot of pain was going to come out of loving Ciel but right here, right now; he made the decision to accept the troubles of the future. As long as there were moments like this.

Ciel started to wake up and looked up tiredly at the man that was running his fingers into his hair, he could tell Ciel liked it because he leaned into Sebastian's hand much like a cat would. The older male thought his heart melted at that moment. He gave the boy a loving smile.

The bluenette slowly and tiredly sat up as he let out a small yawn.

"I'm assuming the novel was unamusing?"

"No It was good. I guess I was just tired." Ciel leaned down to pick up the book off the floor, once in his hands he placed it next to him on the sofa.

"Tired? You slept three extra hours this morning young master. I had let you sleep in remember?"

"I'm still tired." Sebastian was a little surprised the boy was still tired, but Ciel really did look to be lacking energy. "Would you like to sleep young master?"

Ciel nodded and stood up allowing Sebastian to lead the way to his room. Once in there Sebastian got the bed ready and dressed Ciel into clean night clothes but once Ciel got into the bed he older male voiced his concern.

"Are you okay?"

Ciel seemed a little confused from the worry in his butler's voice.

"Yes. I'm fine, just tired."

"Okay."

Sebastian pulled the covers over his master and left the room letting his master rest.

…

Even though Sebastian didn't sleep the previous night he found that he wasn't tired, he kept tossing and turning on his uncomfortable bed. Sighing he finally gave up and sat up. Pulling out his pocket watch he was annoyed to see the big hand on the one.

"Maybe a hot bath would help." He really didn't want to be up at one in the morning but if he was going to be a night crow might as well be comfortable and this bed was not doing it for him.

Once he was in the servant's bathroom he got the tub ready and undressed, stepping in he relaxed once he was consumed with the water. He found himself leaning back in the tub staring at the ceiling. The raven haired man kept playing pictures in his head of what his future was going to be like here. It was going to be difficult but would it be as difficult as his life before?

Suddenly the door opened to a very surprised Ciel who was in his night clothes as Sebastian last saw him. It was apparent the boy didn't think Sebastian would be in here because his face was as red as a tomato and his eyes were wide, before Sebastian could say anything Ciel slammed the door hiding behind it.

Ciel's reaction to seeing him naked for the first time made him want to laugh.

"Ciel? Ciel, its ok. You can come in." he tried to get the boy to respond from the other side of the door but it was silent.

"Ciel I know you are there."

"…your naked."

"Most of the time people bathe without clothing, I am no exception."

The door slowly opened and Ciel's small frame walked in making sure not to look at Sebastian. closing the door behind him he stood silently with his face still flushed from embarrassment.

That caused Sebastian to chuckle "what are you so shy about? We are both males."

"Shut up! You are much older and so are...your body parts."

Sebastian smirked, he couldn't help but love this.

"What did you come down here for young master? Did you need something?"

Ciel who was still blushing finally looked at Sebastian "I had to use the bathroom but something was wrong with the one upstairs. I finally found one that worked down here but I kind of got lost, why are there so many corridors down here?"

Sebastian forgot about the pipes bursting on the top floors the only working bathrooms where the ones on the bottom floors but it was curious that Ciel didn't know his way around in the lower floors. It just proved that the household never ventured down here. That's when he noticed Ciel was slightly shaking.

"Master are you cold?"

"Why don't you have heat down here?" Ciel answered conforming the butler's assumption.

"The water is warm my lord; would you like to come in?" Sebastian didn't know why he said that. He knew it would be completely improper to be naked in a tub with his underage, male, master but he secretly wanted to. He wanted to feel Ciel's skin against his. What was becoming of him?

Ciel's face turned a brighter red then before, if that was possible and he thought he could hear the boys heart pounding. "Sebastian are you mad?!"

"I like to think so, yes." He gave one of his famous smiles to the boy who looked to the side annoyed. Sebastian stood up in the tub showing every feature of his body freely making Ciel quickly turn around so that he wasn't looking at the older naked man.

"SEBASTIAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Getting out so that I can build you a fire, if you don't warm up you will catch a cold."

"I don't want you to stop your bath…this must be your only time to relax." Ciel was still facing with his back toward Sebastian.

"Master your health comes before my leisure time, if you are cold ill-"

"I'll take a bath with you…" Ciel cut him off, his words made Sebastian stare at the bluenette bewildered. Did he just say he would take a bath with him? Sebastian's features softened when he realized Ciel was doing this so that he could still relax.

After a deep breath Ciel turned to face his naked butler and Sebastian noticed the boy's eyes trailing his body. The older male loved it, he loved having Ciel's eyes on him, all of him. he stepped out of the tub and walked in front of the teen. "Are you sure my lord?"

"Hurry up I'm cold." Ciel was red faced.

"As you wish."

The taller male undressed Ciel and once the boy was fully naked he held the boys hand and lead him to the tub. Sebastian got in first then he helped his master in, Ciel at first was sitting at the further side of the tub near the facet. Closed off and shy, while Sebastian was leaned back on the opposite side letting the water warm him. He wondered how awkward this was for Ciel, he himself was enjoying it even if Ciel was on the other side of the tub where only his legs could touch him.

"Ciel…"

The boy looked at him with small discomfort painted on his face. he didn't respond but was giving the raven haired man his attention.

"Why didn't you tell me how sick you were?"

Ciel looked into the water almost sadly, it seemed he was trying to hide his emotions. "So you found out. Who told you?" he didn't seem mad, just disappointed in the older man's reveal of his illness.

"Tanaka."

"I guess you would have found out sooner or later…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ciel looked down again, shame taking his features. "I was scared you would leave."

Sebastian gently Grabbed the smaller males arm and pulled him into him. Pressing their bodies together in an embrace. "I'm not going anywhere."

Ciel let out a breath that sounded relieved, the boy closed his eyes and laid on Sebastian's chest holding onto the older male. It felt amazing, having Ciel's skin pressing against his, feeling the boys breathing. Having their chests together letting the sound of their heart beats mix. It wasn't sexual but loving and pure. He could feel his soul entwining with the soul within the smaller body. It was familiar and made him want to stay here forever, in this moment. Ciel laid his head onto Sebastian's shoulder and closed his eyes, to the older man's relief it seemed Ciel felt the same way.

"I'm glad I met you Sebastian...I'm glad you pulled me away from that carriage, because if you didn't…I wouldn't be able to be here with you right now. You would still be out there struggling and my family would be having a funeral."

Sebastian leaned his head to Ciel's "I'm glad too."

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Alright there you go! Let me know what you guys think will happen next and how you think Ciel and Sebastian are feeling!

See you next time!


	11. Chapter 11: Punishment

I hope you guys don't mind but we are nowhere near the ending.

Looks like this story will be a long one.

Hope you enjoy every step of the way with me.

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Ciel ended up falling asleep on him last night in the tub but Sebastian didn't mind. He was in pure bliss from the whole encounter. Just embracing the boy made him feel something he never felt before, happiness. It truly felt relieving to hold Ciel, it was the same feeling of losing someone you loved more than anything then finding them again. He never wanted to let go.

But just like all nights, that night ended and now he was sitting through one of Ciel's tedious Latin lesions. One thing Sebastian found odd was that he was never taught Latin, but he understood every word of it. When the lesion was over and the tutor left the room he thought he should tell Ciel.

"How hard was it for you to learn Latin young master?"

Ciel thought for a moment before he replied "I'm still learning, it's a hard language. My lesions started when I was four and I still struggle with it sometimes." Ciel was opening up much more to Sebastian after last night. Sebastian supposed he broke down one of the boys many walls. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I was never taught it however, I understand every word you say when you speak it."

Ciel looked puzzled "That's absurd."

"Truly, Before I never mentioned it because I thought it must of all been in my head but as your lesions go on I realize I can really understand it."

Ciel chose to test it not really believing the older male. He spoke in pure Latin confident Sebastian wouldn't understand him. " _tibi sunt speciales mihi es et de te curo"_ but he instantly regretted that decision because Sebastian looked at him surprised and touched. Ciel's face flushed red and his eyes widened when he realized his butler understood every word.

"Do you mean that my lord?"

"Shut up! How did you understand me!?"

In English " _tibi sunt speciales mihi es et de te curo"_ translated to "You are special to me and I care about you." It was funny how Ciel could only tell Sebastian his feelings for him if he thought the older male didn't understand. Was he scared of being rejected? Or was it just that Ciel had no social skills from his confinement? Either way Sebastian let out a gentle laugh from the boy's embarrassment.

"You lied to me! You must have studied it!"

"I truly didn't my lord. I have never lied to you." The older male placed his hand on his heart to show he was sincere.

Ciel took a moment to try and understand the situation when he looked over at his butler and saw the raven haired man's features the bluenette believed he was being true to his promise of not learning Latin. There was no indication the taller male was lying.

"Latin is one of the oldest languages known to man, it is said that it was the language of angels and demons." Ciel was suddenly looking at Sebastian full of curiosity, all his embarrassment leaving him, he continued "I remember you once telling me that your mother thought you were a demon."

This made Sebastian stop everything to think, how was it possible for him to know a dead language that was thousands of years old? A language that took most people years to understand and somehow he knew it like a past memory. Was he a demon who possessed a human body? All sorts of possibility's passed into his head at once. Was it possible that the demon cult that had raped his mother had actually succeeded in summoning a demon soul into a human body? If that was the case, was it possible for that demon to lose all memory of being a child of Satan and think he was human in the mortal body?

Was he that demon?

There was a gentle knock on the door that ripped Sebastian from his thoughts and when Ciel called for whoever it was to come in, Tanaka revealed himself "Master Ciel your father asked to see you."

By the look on Ciel's face it was rare for his father to call him. When the boy looked at his butler and indicated to him to follow Tanaka interrupted "He requests a private attendance."

He wanted to see Ciel alone, it was probably about the child's outburst at the dinner table and it seemed to frighten Ciel. He knew he was in trouble but there was nothing he could do but face it.

The boy nodded and slowly and left the room with Tanaka leaving Sebastian alone in the giant room.

….

Sebastian tried to pass the time by cleaning up however he noticed it was hard for him to focus, between his confusion over his knowledge of Latin and his worry over Ciel and Vincent's meeting there was no rest for his mind. He came across Ciel's notes on his desk and decided to try and pass the time by reading them. As he went over papers in the boys handwriting he found that Ciel liked to draw rabbits on the side of all his notes. The rabbit's adorableness made Sebastian chuckle, examining it closer he realized they all had an eye patch covering one eye. It was a little odd but it did give a sort of character to the rabbit's. The butler wondered if this was Ciel's favorite animal.

"Sebastian."

The old man's voice startled him and he almost jumped up however he kept his composer and looked up from the papers to make eye contact with Tanaka. "Vincent would like to see you."

Him? Why would he want to see Sebastian? as he scanned in his memory of the events that took place that day he suddenly remembered he had harmed Ciel and the maid had saw.

"Where is Ciel?"

"He's in his room. We shouldn't keep Master Vincent waiting"

Something felt wrong, in his gut he knew something bad was going to happen but just like Ciel he could do nothing but face it. He made his way to Vincent's Study and once allowed to enter Sebastian stood in front of the head of household's desk. Vincent wasn't sitting however; he was standing by the window behind the desk looking out to the cold garden outside.

"You asked to see me my lord?"

Vincent shifted his attention to the raven haired man standing before him. "A maid has informed me of an injury my son somehow obtained."

Sebastian felt his stomach drop.

The older male continued "I want to know how he got it"

"He had taken a fall my lord."

Vincent walked closer to Sebastian and it felt threatening but Sebastian stood his ground. This man didn't scare him.

"Ciel told me the same thing, that he had fallen.

Do you want to know something funny about being a parent; we can always tell when our children lie. In Ciel's case he always looks to the right before he spouts untruths.

He didn't fall, something else happened. I don't know why he's trying to protect you but he was persistent in trying to make me believe it had nothing to do with you. So…

My question to you is where did my son "Fall" if you can tell me where Ciel claims he lost his balance I'll let this one slide. I'll have no choice but to believe the two of you."

Sebastian had suddenly wished he had discussed this with Ciel when the maid first walked in on them but he was too ashamed at the time to speak of the bruise. It was still a sort of sore subject for the two so it never came up again. Knowing he already lost this battle he decided not to add insult to injury by lying.

Sighing he submitted "I lost my temper with Ciel"

Vincent's jaw tightened "Do you understand what the punishment for harming my child is?"

"….." the crimson eyed butler kept quiet knowing there was nothing more he could do.

Vincent examined Sebastian and then spoke "However…Ciel seemed protective over you. I don't see why he would lie to me just to protect a servant, I can only imagine that he cares about you and I don't want to hurt him further from what pain I have already caused him with his confinement by killing you. So I'll let you off with a smaller punishment then losing your life."

With that said the boy's father called in two men that must have been waiting outside out the door, each one grabbed one of Sebastian's arms to hold him there from running however the raven haired man didn't struggle.

"Twenty lashes" Vincent spoke with strength

They roughly pulled Sebastian out of the room and down the steps, soon he realized they were taking him; down into the basement but just like the lower floors there was many corridors down there Sebastian like always was amazed at the sheer size of the manor. He had no idea there was even more floors then he had imagined. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if there was hidden rooms and halls in the walls.

When they finally pushed him into one of the rooms he realized that this was were un-loyal servants would be taken and questioned or in his case, punished. The walls were made of the same gray stone the floor was made of and there was chains with cuffs hanging on the wall that was rusted with age. The most unnerving part of the chamber was the dried blood that coated the floor and walls.

One of the men closed the door behind them, he had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, he also seemed to be in his early twenties. He must have been one of the guards that protected the manor from the forest because he had the scent of pine trees stuck on him. While the other man seemed a bit older, possibly in his thirties. The older male had black hair as dark as charcoal and golden eyes, he had similar features to Sebastian but he was taller.

"Take off your top layers" The black haired man commanded and Sebastian knew there was no point in refusing. He removed his coat, silk vest, and cotton shirt leaving his chest bare. The taller man directed him to the wall and chained Sebastian's wrists to the cold metal cuffs. The raven haired man was facing the wall so that his back could be easily accessible.

And that's when it began, a sharp sting consumed his back as he felt the leather whip rip his skin causing him to hiss in pain.

"One" The charcoal haired man counted.

The next shot of pain that went through his body caused him to clench the chains holding him in place

"Two"

The sound of the whip piercing through the air and slicing his skin was deafening, he could feel warm

liquid trailing down his back. Blood.

"Three"

The lashings went on and Sebastian tried to focus on the taller man's voice counting down until he couldn't stand anymore due to his legs shaking. He started to lose conciseness after the fifteenth lash and as he drifted away he found his mind throwing him into a past memory.

…..

He was fourteen again, a few more days and he would be fifteen. Sebastian's hair had dried blood in it and he was sickly pale from not seeing sunlight in years making his dark features and crimson eyes that much more prominent, looking around he remembered this place to be his room, and he remembered this day.

The wood and metal door opened to reveal a man in a black hooded coat, gaining Sebastian's attention.

"Hello little crow" The man's voice was rusty as if he had smoked his whole life.

Everyone in this placed called him that, mostly because anytime he was locked up with other children he was always the only one to survive. As the numbers went down Sebastian was always the last one still breathing in his chains. Through torture, rape, medical testing, and other amusements for the keepers. Sebastian survived it all like a crow that fed off of death.

The hooded man grabbed the chains that contained the boy's wrists and opened them, Sebastian pulled the now free body part to his chest and held his right limb. They had been in those chains for months, examining them he noticed they were rubbed raw from the harsh metal.

The older man smirked under the hood and gestured to the open door "Your free to go."

Disbelief painted his features, were they really letting him go? Either way he wasn't going to let this chance go, with everything in Sebastian he sprinted to the door but sudden pain struck him and he fell to the floor holding his stomach. On the other side of the wall near the open door another man was standing there with a bat, he assumed that was what had hit him in the stomach as he tried to run out. The mystery man grabbed him and dragged him into a different room that was only lit by candles. When he tried to struggle the man would just strike him again with the bat causing him to grunt in pain. Sebastian was laid on a stone table in the middle of the room and when his eyes finally adjusted to the dim lighting he saw about ten men dressed in hooded cloaks surrounding the stone table he was laid on. The boy couldn't see any of their faces. They once again chained him down by his wrists and ankles despite the raven haired boy's efforts to stop it.

When Sebastian heard someone reading in tongues he pointed his gaze to it and was surprised to find it was a man that was dressed like all the others however he had the head of a goat. More so he was wearing the goat head over his own head. Sebastian could see the ripped bloody flesh of the dead goat's neck from where it was severed from its body. Its dead eyes stared at him consuming his whole body with fear.

"Are you sure this is the one?" He heard the conversation between his keeper and one of the cloaked men but couldn't see them well due to the dim lighting.

"Yes, he brings death, and as you can see he has the same features as his mother did also his eyes are crimson proving the summoning worked."

"How much?"

"two thousand pounds."

"That's too much."

"Sebastian brings me most of my income, so if I'm going to hand him over to you religious freaks I expect to have my money's worth."

"He's not an Earls son, he's not worth that much."

"Its two thousand or nothing."

Just that moment a loud bang of a gun sounded followed by the sound of a thud making Sebastian jolt his body in response. He didn't need to see to know what had just happened. They killed the man who had confined him for years. Normally that would make him happy however it didn't seem that his new owners were going to be any better.

The man with the goat head started a prayer but unlike the type of prayers heard in churches, this one gave the feeling of fear and discomfort. As he chanted his prayer the other cult members started rubbing what was a thick red/black liquid all over his arms and chest. It felt horrible on his skin. When one of the cult members brought a baby skull to his mouth he realized it was filled with the same thick liquid. It smelt like iron. Sebastian refused to drink it causing them to force it into his mouth.

He knew what it was from the taste. It was blood.

Sebastian wanted to throw up but he knew in this situation they would just make him drink more, so he held it back. Apparently all the blood wasn't enough because they had grabbed a ridged knife and slit his left wrist allowing the blood to be contained in yet another bowl made from a human skull. In his head Sebastian subconsciously knew that the blood that he was forced to wear and drink was from a previous victim who went through what he is going through now, and the blood they were taking from him would be used on whoever was next. He wanted to fight but it was no use. The blood leaving his body made him weak along with the chains that held him there.

Sebastian watched as they pulled a live snake out of a brown bag and dipped its head in the blood from Sebastian's wrist. It hissed and jerked its body trying to get free. The raven haired boy couldn't help but feel bad for the creature after all he understood what it was feeling.

They then placed the snake on Sebastian's chest, it hissed at them all then looked at the body it was laying on, its eyes locked with Sebastian's crimson orbs and suddenly it stopped hissing. Bowing its head, the snake submitted.

Everyone in the room was silent but no one was more shocked then Sebastian. The snake was previously in distress but once it got a glimpse at Sebastian it calmed.

"The snake didn't kill him, he's the Child conceived from a demon." A voice called out from one of the men but he couldn't tell which one.

The loss of blood made everything hazy, then dark as he passed out.

"Twenty"

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So now we see a little of Sebastian's past and I hope it wasn't confusing.

See you all next chapter!


	12. Chapter 12: Tender Care

When Sebastian came to, he found he was laying in his uncomfortable bed. He immediately felt pain all throughout his back. It was similar to feeling on fire. Weakly and slowly he attempted to get up, it was funny how one injury could make your whole body ache. When Sebastian finally managed to get up he saw that the sheets where his back was laying were stained red. Placing his hand behind him to feel his back he was surprised to find it was bandaged with cotton wraps.

Sarcasm took the voice in his head; how kind of master Vincent, to make sure someone bandaged him up after telling someone else to injure him. sighing he grabbed another shirt from his dresser and made his way to the servant's washroom. If he bled through the bandages he should change them as to not alarm Ciel when he went to find the boy after. He wondered if Ciel knew what had happened to him, he hoped not. Sebastian didn't want Ciel to feel the guilt of harming someone he cared for. He didn't want Ciel to feel the way he did when he saw the boys bruise.

Looking into the washrooms mirror Sebastian was alarmed to see how tired and weak he looked. Did the lashings really take that much out of him? Gently he pulled the wraps off of himself. Hissing from the pain as he pulled the fabric from the open gashes causing them to bleed more. Once they were off he turned so he could get a good look at the damage. It was horrible and would most likely scar; there was deep gashes where torn raw flesh hung, the impacts that didn't cut left the skin bruised red and black.

After everything he has been through Sebastian was lucky enough to never have been scarred…except for his left wrist. The memory of his past flooded back in from the dream and it caused him to look at his wrist where a line of skin was lighter than the rest of his pigment. Sebastian had suppressed the memory, or at least he always tried to by not thinking about it.

However, it always found its way back to him.

Grabbing a rag from the sinks counter he soaked it in water and prepared himself to clean his newly acquired wounds. Sebastian found it quite difficult, he couldn't reach most of them and his reflexes would make him pull his hand away when he barely touched the ones he could reach due to the pain.

The raven haired man sighed giving up. He started to wrap the wounds back up which proved to be just as painful as pulling them off. The pain made him need to sit down to catch his breath. Silently Sebastian cursed, the chores were going to be much more difficult now. Something as simple as moving his arm up caused a wave of pain into him that was most unbearable.

Just then he wondered what time it was, how long was he unconscious for? Pulling out the pocked watch Ciel had gifted him he saw that it was midday, meaning he slept through the whole night and half a day. Who was taking care of Ciel? Carefully the raven haired man put the clean shirt he grabbed earlier from his dresser, on along with the black silk vest, over that he put on his black over coat. He was thankful for all the black, if the blood soaked through, Ciel wouldn't be able to see it.

The last thing Sebastian did was rinse his face in the sink, it was a pathetic attempt to try and look more lively. Taking one last look at himself he realized his eyes were a deeper red then usual and his wet strands of hair was sticking to the sides of his face. He took this moment to look over his features, he was told he had his mother's features but he could never imagine what she had looked like. Quickly he ripped himself from that thought and started walking to Ciel's room. He didn't want to think of his mother right now.

Sebastian didn't knock, more like he didn't want to raise his hand to participate in the notion. When he opened the door and entered he was surprised to see Ciel not taking part in anything. He was just sitting down on the bed staring out the window, he was fully clothed so Sebastian couldn't help but wonder if the child dressed himself or if Tanaka took over for him.

"Master?"

Ciel startled by Sebastian's voice quickly turned his head to face his butler. Once confirming it truly was Sebastian and not just his imagination he quickly got up and went to the older male, the bluenette's features full of worry. Standing before him he took in the butler's image. "You look horrible…"

"and you look lovely as always." Sebastian smiled a gentle smile.

"Tanaka told me you suddenly fell ill."

So that's what they told Ciel, it was smart of Tanaka because even if Ciel wanted to see him he wouldn't be able to in fear that he would also fall ill, in which his case was far more dangerous due to his poor immune system. Sparing Sebastian an unwanted encounter of the boy seeing him bloody and weak.

"I'm much better now, the illness passed."

"Why are you lying?"

Taken aback from Ciel's words Sebastian stared into his multicolored eyes. He had never met someone that could tell when he was lying. It was one of Sebastian's weapons. How well he could lie and trick people however, Ciel saw right through him and it was painted on the boy's face. It was true what he said to the blue haired boy yesterday; he had never lied to him before. So there was no way the child could tell from habit when he told untruths.

"Master?..."

"I can see it in your eyes, you just lied to me." The boy seemed upset but not just over Sebastian lying.

"My eyes?"

Ciel stepped closer so that there was only the spacing of one foot between them. "I can see your emotions in your eyes. When I first met you I saw pain…unhappiness. Now I see regret."

There it was again; that feeling of déjà vu. Had Ciel said that to him before? He couldn't remember him saying it to him but there was something screaming at him within saying he did. Suddenly Sebastian wondered what first meeting Ciel was talking about. Was it this life or one before?

"Sebastian tell me the truth." Ciel was stern and it would have been cute to see in a different circumstance however he knew the truth would hurt Ciel.

"That rabbit you draw on your papers-"

"Don't change the subject! Tell me what happened!"

Sebastian gave Ciel a gentle smile trying to calm him down "I'll tell you, but only after you tell me about the rabbit."

Ciel looked defeated, taking a moment his features softened and he was no longer stern. Sebastian noticed the resemblance to Ciel's father when the boy tried to act strong.

"The rabbit is me."

How cute, he sees himself as a rabbit.

"Why the eyepatch? Is it because you want to hide your purple eye? Are you embarrassed by it?"

"Not at all, the eyepatch is because…." He suddenly stopped to pull out memory's the boy held deep in his mind, when he was ready he continued "I used to have nightmares when I was little of being in hell, I only had one eye so I wore an eye patch."

Sebastian was confused most children hid from their nightmares but if Ciel was drawing something that reminded him of it then it would seem he was chasing it. Like the rabbit in Alice in wonderland, suddenly the rabbit made sense.

"Why draw something that brings bad memories?"

"That's the thing, even though they were nightmares…I liked them. Almost like when you love someone and they die, then you see them in your dreams. It's painful and hurts more than anything you could imagine because you know you have to wake up and leave them there waiting in your mind, but you find that you can't wait for the nightmare to return just to see that person again. Suddenly the nightmare becomes a drug."

"Who was the person you were chasing in your nightmares?" Sebastian felt his soul tug inside his body so he stepped closer to Ciel, leaving them inches from each other. He found he was breathing a little harder than before waiting for the younger male's answer. Sebastian didn't understand why this was so important to him and why...he was so interested in the person Ciel chased in his dreams.

"There was this…Demon…I could never see his face but his name was Amon."

Hearing the name Amon woke something in Sebastian but he couldn't pin point what and the feelings that followed. He just stared dumbfounded at the bluenette trying to piece together in his mind why this mattered so much.

"Sebastian…it's your turn to tell me what happened."

The taller male sighed, he had a plan to distract Ciel further but it seemed the boy was set on finding out. The boy had a gift allowing him to tell when Sebastian lied so that was out of the question. As he was trying to think of something his thoughts were cut off by Ciel's voice.

"If you don't tell me I'll have to ask my father and I just might get over emotional, who's to say I won't have an asthma attack."

What a manipulative little shit…There was so much of Vincent in Ciel. As he thought about it more it was almost awkward how he had little to no chemistry with the father but shared so much with the son. It be more practical if he and the older Phantomhive had a bond then him and the runt of the litter. It was true you couldn't choose who you loved but was Sebastian bold enough to say he loved Ciel? There were such powerful emotions that he felt when he was around the blue haired boy however love was painful and he didn't want to experience the pain of love anymore.

There was nothing more he could do, he had to tell the truth.

"I was punished."

Ciel kept his eyes on his butler, he looked both serious and full of guilt. "For my shoulder?"

"…yes"

The boy bit his lip upset, it seemed he wanted to yell but was holding back. "Show me."

"No Ciel, that's not-"

"Show me!"

Surprised by Ciel's tone Sebastian only looked at the younger male. When he realized it wasn't anger that made Ciel yell but regret and a massive amount of guilt he pulled the boy to him and held him to his Chest. "Don't do that to yourself, it's not your fault Ciel." When the boy calmed he buried his face into Sebastian's chest and slowly wrapped his arms around the taller man, but it was short lived because when his arms grazed the raven haired man's back he flinched in pain causing the younger male to pull away.

Sebastian never hated himself more than that moment for not being able to hold back his reflexes. Ciel started undoing the buttons on his coat but he grabbed the small hand to stop him. "Master please…you don't want to see this." his plea was in vain because the smaller male only shook his hand off and continued unbuttoning. When he pulled the coat off, he could already see the blood seeping through the white fabric. This made the boy work faster, he quickly undid the vest and pulled that off as well but when he got to Sebastian's last layer he froze. There was no blood on the front but it was on the sides and shoulders indicating to the bluenette that it was all over the black. His hands started to shake as he slowly unbuttoned the white shirt that was stained crimson.

Sebastian stood and watched as the child he cared most for struggle with each button, he could see the pain deepen in Ciel the closer he got to the last button. When his shirt was opened revealing his bare chest Ciel Stared at it for a moment and gently glazed his fingers over the skin that didn't have the wraps covering it. It was the boy's way of trying to remember what it felt like before he was going to see it destroyed. It felt wonderful to have Ciel's delicate hands make contact with his skin.

Silently Ciel chose it was time to see what he thought in his mind he had caused, he made his way to stand behind Sebastian. "Kneel." Ciel commanded and in any other situation Sebastian would have laughed, the boy was too short to reach his shoulders. He obediently did as he was told and once he was kneeled down the taller male felt Ciel's gentle hands slide his shirt off his shoulders, Ciel began unbinding the wraps as gently as he could and the taller male did his best to hold back any sound of pain that was threatening to come out, once it was all off he revealed the damage from the leather whip.

The boy fell silent as he looked at the damage all the air ripped from his lungs. When Ciel finally gained his composer he said "This family is toxic, I should have never brought you here."

Sebastian stood then and turned around to face the blue haired boy. "I'm happy that you brought me here." Gently he placed his hand under Ciel's chin and made the boy look up at him. "I have never been happier than I am here."

After a long pained silence Ciel finally nodded although it didn't seem sincere he passed his butler and started walking to his washroom with Sebastian following confused, it was too early for his bath.

"Master?"

"Your horrible at cleaning wounds…I'll do it for you." The notion was Ciel's way of being loving. It was unheard of for masters to care to their servant's wounds but to him and Ciel it seemed natural to take care of each other however normally he was doing most of the care giving. The boy had him sit down on a stool as he filled a bowl with water and placed a clean rag into it. Wetting the rag, the bluenette gently started to pat it to the wound making sure not to irritate it further by rubbing or wiping, although the boy's hands were as light as feathers on his skin, the pain vibrated through him.

"How do you know how to clean wounds young master?"

"My aunt is a doctor remember? She taught me a few things when I was younger."

"What a handy trait to have." Sebastian Smiled

"I'll talk to my father after this" He dipped the rag in the bowl and the water tinted crimson, pulling it back out he began to repeat the process of patting the open wounds.

"He was only trying to protect you." It was the truth, even though Sebastian didn't much like that it was him who was on the other side of the punishment, he was grateful that Vincent was so protective over Ciel. "If I found out someone hurt you, I would have done much worse to them. Your father was merciful."

"I don't need either of you protecting me."

"Now who's spouting fibs?" The boy tugged roughly on his hair, it was the only thing he could do without causing more injury to the older male. Sebastian only chuckled.

"Harming those that are loyal to you only makes more enemies. I wish my father understood that." Ciel was done cleaning the gashes and started to bind Sebastian's back and chest with clean wraps. The boy was right in a way, but it might have been his pureness from the world. sometimes those that you think are loyal are the ones that stab you and in other cases you could as Ciel stated, turn someone loyal into an enemy. It was one of those hard decisions the teen would have to make when he took over in his father's place and although it be better for him to be a kind and loving master, Sebastian hoped he became just as cruel as his father. Because love lead to mistakes, and mistakes lead to death.

After getting up Sebastian turned to face Ciel "Your father is a good man, I agreed to his decision. Master, I hope you find it in yourself to forgive him. It's easy to see that everything he has done; he has done it for you. His harshness and cruelty is just his fear over losing you."

Ciel sighed sadly considering everything his butler had told him, it looked that Ciel knew it to be true but was stubbornly trying to pull away from the subject. Sebastian desperately wanted the father and son to set aside their differences, not for him but for Ciel. He could see the stress it brought the young boy.

It was time to talk to the father and fix this mess.

….

Ciel was persistent in helping the taller male throughout the day and it was both touching and amusing to see. The boy had no talent in anything that wasn't academic so he fumbled with the chores and struggled with almost everything but no matter how many times Sebastian informed him it wasn't a lords place to do the house work Ciel would brush him off and continue. It made the raven haired man curve his lips into a soft smile. The boy was doing it so that Sebastian wouldn't have to over exert himself.

When the day finally ended Ciel was exhausted, it took no time to get him ready for bed, once the bluenette's head touched the pillow he was out. It amused Sebastian and he made a note remember this day forever.

However, right now he was determined to find Vincent and talk about his son with him. He checked the drawing room, Vincent's office, his study, the entertainment room and even the main hall but the father of the boy was nowhere to be found. Dread overtook the butler when he realized that the only room he had not checked was Ciel's parents room. It would be extremely awkward for him to go into their personal chamber, something about seeing Vincent in his night Clothes along with his wife discomforted him but Sebastian was not going to give up.

When he was before the door he knocked gently secretly hoping neither was awake.

"Come in Tanaka." It was Vincent's voice.

Sebastian opened the door and took a step inside. He was relieved to see Neither Rachel nor Vincent were in their night clothes. The mother was sitting on a chair by the fireplace in her hand was a book showing she was previously reading before he walked in, Vincent was looking at what seemed like a file of a young girl most likely a child he was searching for in the underworld.

Both were surprised to see him. Rachel spoke first as she stood up from worry "Is Ciel okay?"

"Yes my lady, I only wish to speak about his development."

"Speak." Vincent placed the file on the bed and turned all his attention to the butler dressed all in black.

"My apologies over disturbing you both so late, but I'm concerned that Ciel is slowly growing hateful toward you."

"…." Vincent didn't look as if he didn't believe Sebastian, as he well knew Ciel was around the butler more than anyone else. "Has he said something to alarm you?"

"Not so much in words, but I can see his discomfort. I would like to ask you if it be possible for you to take a day in his company."

Rachel took ahold of her husband's arm lovingly "Vincent, I think it's a wonderful idea. Ciel used to love playing with you." She turned her attention to Sebastian "he used to follow Vincent around like a lost puppy" She smiled warmly "He never wanted to let go of his father, so poor Vincent had to carry him everywhere" the memory made Vincent smile and causing Sebastian to try and imagine a younger Ciel clinging to his father. It was hard to imagine.

"It's true my son and I have gone through a rough week, but I had expected as much since I had done the same thing to my father when I found out what he was placing on my shoulders."

Thinking for a moment the father spoke again,

"Tomorrow, bring Ciel to the main hall I'll have a simple surprise for him."

Well that was surprisingly simple "Thank you my lord." Sebastian turned to leave but was stopped by Vincent's voice. "Sebastian."

Turning he looked back at the blue haired man.

"I see now you were doing something I couldn't do, disciplining Ciel. I might have acted rashly by punishing you but I can see now that you really are good for him. I must ask you never lay a hand on him again and if he acts out to turn him into me and ill handle it."

Sebastian nodded and followed with "Thank you. Ill handle him with care from here on out."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With every hard moment they become closer


	13. Chapter 13: Pray

When Sebastian tried to wake Ciel it was much harder than it was before, the bluenette kept pulling away from the older man when Sebastian tried to gently shake him. Grunting angrily when he would explain it was time to start the day. It was most likely due to all the work Ciel did yesterday to help him, however no matter how amusing it was he had to get the boy out of bed.

After a tedious battle with the child Sebastian finally got him up and ready but Ciel's lack of energy showed on his face and it was quite adorable.

"Would you like a cup of coffee in place of tea today?"

"No, I don't much like coffee."

"Then today ill serve you a strong tea to help you wake."

Today Sebastian chose to dress Ciel in Another blue and black suit, he found he loved the color on the boy and in general he was starting to love blue in itself. It was in Ciel's hair, eye and most of his outfits, the pigment made him think of the young Phantomhive and he be lying if he said it wasn't a fond thought.

When the child was fully dressed Sebastian decided to inform him of his activities for the day, he wasn't quite sure how Ciel would react to spending the day with his father. The older male knew that if he just threw Ciel into it as a surprise it might cause another outburst from the small bluenette, and if he told him now the boy might flat out refuse in his stubbornness but it was better than having another situation taken out of hand in front of Vincent.

"Young master today your father asks to spend time with you."

Ciel tensed "I do not wish to see him today or any other day for that matter."

Sebastian sighed, it seemed Ciel was still bitter over his punishment, he truly wanted the father and son to stop this unnecessary bickering. He was envious the boy had a father that loved him where as he only knew his father as the mystery man that raped his mother. Sebastian was grateful that Ciel cared enough for him to grow a sort of hatred for his father for harming him, but Vincent was a good man and the raven haired man could see that. Also the stress it caused Ciel was unnecessary.

"Forgive him, it was a simple mistake and he is trying to fix it."

"Simple?! Giving someone twenty lashes is simple?" Ciel's eyes narrowed and this caused Sebastian to become frustrated. Why couldn't Ciel let it go?

"Master please, if not for him do it for me."

"You? Why does it matter to you what my relation to my father is?"

Sebastian paused for a second thinking of the perfect answer to get the beautiful boy to accept his father's date. When one resolve crossed his mind he wanted to smirk but didn't let it escape due to the notion giving away his sincerity.

"As you know I have never met my own father…I would like to see what a father and son are like."

It was a guilt trip and it was evil but Sebastian knew Ciel couldn't back out now without being cruel. He had trapped him.

It seemed to work because suddenly all the stubbornness left the boy and another emotion filled his face, Sebastian couldn't tell if it was pity or embarrassment over his actions, maybe it was both.

"…. fine."

Victory.

…..

When he brought Ciel into the main hall he was surprised to find only a table in the middle of the room and Vincent standing next to it, was this the surprise? A Table? No, there had to be something else to it. Sebastian found himself looking around the room for any other indication of a gift or performance but found nothing.

Vincent was gleaming, almost proud of himself but Sebastian couldn't help thinking his gift to Ciel was much better. Hamlet was better than a table, no doubt about that. However, when he looked at Ciel he was surprised to see the boy seemed to understand exactly what was happening.

The father walked over to Ciel and handed him a handkerchief, Ciel's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Father I'm much too old for this." He held the piece of fabric out to his father for him to take it back but Vincent refused.

"It will be fun." Vincent gave his son a sweet smile but Ciel didn't return it, instead he looked to Sebastian who was confused over the whole encounter, the boy was waiting for Sebastian's approval since he himself was unsure and in response Sebastian nodded.

Letting out an irritated sigh Ciel walked over to the table and waited until his father took the handkerchief he had previously given Ciel and tied it around the boy's head, blindfolding him.

The questions only built up in Sebastian but he watched in silence.

Then Vincent walked to the opposite side of the table and blindfolded himself. The two of them stood blindfolded on opposite sides of the table in silence. Suddenly Vincent projected his voice "Stalk!"

Abruptly the two started moving around the table, Sebastian was able to figure out some of what was happening. Ciel was being stalked by Vincent, it seemed by the way the two were moving around the table that it was Vincent's objective to catch his son and Ciel's was opposite; to not be caught. It was amusing to watch because since the boy's vision was impaired he kept one hand on the table to keep his way however he was silent as death. Sebastian smirked, the child was trying to hear Vincent's steps but the older Phantomhive was much more keen and grabbed Ciel from behind, startling the boy and making him jolt his body while letting out a small scream that made the father laugh and even helped Ciel to laugh.

That was all it took for Ciel to become competitive and almost childlike, he pulled off the fabric from his eyes and so did his father.

"Got you." Vincent Grinned ear to ear

"My shoes make too much noise." Just like a child Ciel was making excuses as to why he lost but it only caused Vincent to laugh "then take them off like when you were little."

Ciel wasted no time he pulled his shoes off leaving only his socks and once again allowed the father to blindfold him. Vincent then went back to his side of the table and repeated the process of blindfolding himself. When both were ready, Vincent said the word to start the game.

"Stalk!"

The father quickly made his way around the table and Ciel avoided him much better this time, taking off his shoes really did help. It seemed Vincent could only rely on the boys breathing however Ciel was persistent in holding his breath whenever he felt his father was drawing near, which was hilarious to see the extent the boy would go just to win.

But then Ciel showed his true colors by quickly crawling under the table so that no matter how fast or keen his father was, he wouldn't be able to find his son. Ciel made a point to sometimes make noises close to one side of the table to lead the older Phantomhive on, then shift to the other side and repeat while still being unreachable under the safely of the table…it was shady but it was also brilliant. Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle as he thought "Cheater."

When the father tired he finally gave in to what he thought was his son's slickness. "I give up."

The smaller bluenette quickly crawled out from under the table as to not be caught when his father takes off his blindfold and was perfectly timed because when Vincent took the cloth off his eyes Ciel was standing by the table taking his off.

The smaller Phantomhive was smirking from his unrighteous victory. Sebastian had just learned yet another thing about Ciel; he didn't like losing, was incredibly competitive and would do anything to get what he wanted even if it included fraud.

These traits would normally turn Sebastian away however, he found it quite attractive in Ciel.

"I win it seems."

"We shall see how many more you win." Vincent gently laughed and once again pulled the fabric over his eyes.

They had repeated the game several times, and surprisingly Ciel started to actually play along and would laugh anytime he was caught. It was fun to watch but also a bit depressing, this was obviously something the two shared from Ciel's childhood. He could see how much the two loved each other and he thought back to what Rachel had said on how close they were when the teen was younger "Ciel never wanted to let Vincent go." He repeated her words in his head. This was one of those moments he wished he had a childhood similar to Ciel's.

The game was interrupted however when Tanaka came in and quickly spoke to get Vincent's attention.

"Master Vincent, one of the Queen's messengers is here to inquire about the missing children."

Both Ciel and Vincent took off the blindfolds turned their gaze to the graying man, the older Phantomhive then looked at his son apologetic "Ciel I'm sorry, were going to have to retire the game for today." Ciel seemed disappointed and only nodded at his father.

Vincent not wanting to waste any time, left the room with gods speed with Tanaka, leaving Ciel and Sebastian alone in the room. The butler knew that Ciel's spirit was brought down from his father's sudden responsibility's. So he did the only thing he knew would make things better.

"Master may I join?"

Ciel turned his gaze to his butler and let all the previous emotions leave him, smirking at the taller male he said "Do you even know how to play rich boy?" he was quoting Alois from when they first met when the blonde had pushed Ciel down after he asked to join their ball game. The memory made Sebastian gently laugh. It wasn't funny then but it sure was now considering it was the whole reason he was now living here with Ciel.

"Then will you teach me?"

The boy handed him the handkerchief that his father was previously using. "it's a stupid game really, but it was one of my favorites when I was little because it could be played inside."

"I'm sure that was quite convenient in your case."

"You would be surprised at how many games prove to be difficult indoors. This game is called "DeerStalker" and as you saw its basically a cat and mouse game. One is the deer and one is the stalker. The objective is for the stalker to catch the deer. The rules are simple, you have to be as quiet as possible and are only allowed to go around the table."

"How can I trust you won't cheat like with your father." Sebastian raised his brow

"Because you already saw my tricks, it's no use trying them on you."

They both got on opposite sides of the table and blindfolded themselves. When Ciel announce the games commence Sebastian choose to Cheat this time. He took the fabric off his eyes and watched as Ciel Struggled to pinpoint where he was, the boy took hesitant steps couscous of being caught by the "Predator". Something in Sebastian sparked and he wanted to claim his pray. Maybe it was the game, or the idea of Ciel being his "Pray".

Sneaking behind Ciel, the butler suddenly wrapped his arms around the boy's slender waist, pressing the bluenette to him. Ciel was startled but stiffened and let out a breath when Sebastian whispered in his ear "Got you, now do I get to eat you?"

Instantly Ciel's whole face turned a bright shade of red "LET ME GO YOU PERVERT!" He struggled from Sebastian's grip and the butler chuckled and let him free. It was his first attempt at anything with Ciel and honestly he didn't know why he did it in the first place, he didn't even know if the boy had interest in him the way he did for the bluenette. However, in that moment when he was holding Ciel and the boy took that breath…it almost sounded like he aroused Ciel but that was probably just hopeful thinking.

If Ciel had feathers they would be all puffed up right now. It was a sight to see and it made him laugh more which irritated the boy even further causing him to kick one of Sebastian's long legs, it didn't hurt at all since the child was weak.

"Shall we get your tea young master?" Today was ever so amusing.

"Promise you won't molest the tea cups?" Ciel mocked him, if only he knew that Sebastian liked him most when he acted this way.

"It's not the tea cups I find amusing."

Just then Ciel coughed.

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I'm terribly sorry this chapter is so short, I had just promised not to release short chapters anymore and I HAVE BETRAYED YOU! TT^TT

And I have no real excuse, I just really wanted to draw... so one night instead of writing I ended up drawing.

So DeerStalker is actually real game from Victorian England, it was a popular game amongst children.

See you all next chapter!


	14. Chapter 14: Trip to London

"Ciel I'm sorry, but you can't come with us and you know why."

Vincent and Rachel were standing in front of the doors to the manor, servants going in and out caring their master's trunks of clothes to load onto the carriage. The older Phantomhives were headed to France on the queen's orders, it seemed to have something to do with the missing children's case that Tanaka had mentioned yesterday. Sebastian couldn't help but think of this family, everyone saw them as lucky to be so close to the crown, rewarded with riches. Everyone wanted to be a Phantomhive but Sebastian saw what they really were; slaves to the crown. If the Queen said "fetch" the Phantomhives would stop everything and obey.

It Annoyed Sebastian but not as much as the idea of Ciel having to be a salve to the Queen one day. That thought alone made him tighten his jaw. Looking at the boy the butler saw Ciel's discomfort in the fact his parents were leaving. It was the kind of face a child give a parent when they are disappointed over and over again. Sebastian couldn't help but wonder just how often Vincent and Rachel left their son behind for these types of trips. From the look on Ciel's face, quite often.

"Sweetie we will bring you something back like always." Rachel tried to cheer up her son but it didn't seem to help, he was still staring blankly at his parents. When Tanaka informed Vincent all was ready, the father kissed his sons head and the mother hugged him then the two left the estate and got into the carriage. Ciel wasted no time he closed the door behind them and walked up to his room without saying a word.

Sebastian hated when Ciel was like this, they were prone to fight when the teen's mood was low. The butler chose not to follow Ciel just yet, he needed some time to cool down before Sebastian attempted to pick at his brain. In the meantime, he chose to read up on Ciel's illness, the boy had coughed throughout the night and although he hadn't coughed today or made any indication he was feeling un-well. Sebastian was worried however, so he made his way to the manors library, he wanted to look into medical books just so he could be prepared if Ciel's health took a turn.

When Sebastian found a few to his liking he sat down and began to go over the literature to see if there was anything he could find that would help him understand the boy more. Sebastian had wished he had asked Lady Anne more questions when she was there because this was tedious for someone who lacked knowledge in medical arenas. He searched for what seemed like forever but only found the information the woman in red had given him from the start. Something in Sebastian was yelling at him to look further, maybe it wasn't just asthma. Nose bleeds were not proven to be connected to asthma and neither was the changing of eye color. Just this moment the butler wished he was someone of prominent birth, as to have been able to become a doctor or at least have basic knowledge of this field. Call it instinct, but he had a feeling it wasn't just asthma effecting Ciel.

"Sebastian."

Turning his head, he saw multicolored eyes watching him.

"Do you need something master?" Sebastian placed the book he was observing down so that Ciel wouldn't be able to notice what it was but it was in vain. Ciel had seen the cover when he had come in.

"You can search all you want, no one has been able to find out what's wrong." The boy seemed unamused and sat down on the other side of the table that Sebastian had placed the book down onto.

"Surly someone would know, have you been seen by more than one doctor?" it was a rude thing to say, by saying this he was implying Lady Anne didn't know what she was doing but Sebastian didn't care if he sounded rude. luckily Ciel didn't seem to care about his lack of manners at the moment and replied "Yes, I've seen a few. They all say the same thing."

"And what Is that?"

"To prepare for the worst."

He said it with no emotion but Sebastian wasn't unaware that Ciel in fact did have a lot of emotions built up inside of him, the teens whole life he was told he was going to die. How does that effect someone? Sebastian imagined it might be similar to living on the streets and knowing that any moment you might be killed. It forces you to grow up far too early and not only that but It evokes feelings like lack of self-worth.

"the worst?"

Ciel then looked into his butler's crimson eyes "I'm fine Sebastian, I have not fallen seriously ill in a long time. I actually came looking for you because I want to sneak out."

That was a sudden switch in conversation that took Sebastian off guard, he couldn't understand why Ciel would go to him; the man in charge of making sure he doesn't sneak out, to tell him he is indeed doing the only thing he knows Sebastian isn't allowed to let him do. This boy was so unpredictable.

"Master-"

"Before you start complaining, I already planned everything so that we won't get caught."

"We?" how nice of his young master to include him in his horrible plans, a sigh escaped through Sebastian's lips.

"Yes, we. You wouldn't want to leave me defenseless and alone in London would you?"

"London?" Sebastian was shocked, that was a far place to sneak out too.

"My parents will be in France for a few days, meaning I could make it to London and back without them ever finding out."

"Master this is a horrible idea. Not only is it risking us being caught but it is also risking your health."

Ciel glared at him "We won't get caught, I have sneaked out many times before I know what I'm doing as for my health, I told you I'm fine."

"Let's say we do sneak out, who's to say a servant won't tell of our disappearance?"

"I already thought of that Sebastian, tomorrow is servant's day."

"Servants day?"

"Oh that right, you have never worked in a manor like this one." Ciel suddenly became calmer then before so that he could explain what tomorrow's day was. "One day out of the month, my father gives all the servants a day off. That includes you. Most wealthy families allow this but only some masters participate like my family does."

Sebastian found himself confused, how does a master participate in a servant day off? Do they take the day off too?

"So it's a day where you rest with servants?"

"A little more than that, we serve them. usually my father likes to take the servants to the lake and he and my mother serve them food and tea while the servants relax and enjoy their day but since he was suddenly called out, they will have the day alone without us."

Sebastian couldn't help but smirk, that meant tomorrow was his day, Ciel was to serve him. Somehow Ciel though he was going to get out of this however, Sebastian wasn't going to let him brush this off. When the boy saw Sebastian's smirk first came confusion but when he slowly understood his eyes widened in both disbelief and stubbornness.

"No Sebastian, I refuse."

His smirk was unaltered "Master you mean to tell me you're not true to your word?" Sebastian placed a hand over his heart as he faked a hurt expression.

"Shut up, I'm not going to serve you."

"How about if I agree to your sneaking out?"

That quieted the younger male as he pulled his attention to Sebastian giving him the opportunity to explain their new deal. Sebastian wasted no time "Well I'll only agree to helping you escape if you agree to be my servant for servant's day." The taller males smirk deepened while Ciel let an annoyed sound leave his throat.

"That's cheap Sebastian."

"Just like you skipping out on servant's day is cheap. What a cruel master." Once again he faked a hurt expression which gained him a scoff from the younger male.

"I hate you." It was all he could say in his defeat and Sebastian couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well then, its settled. Tomorrow I'll help you sneak out and you will serve me." it still was a risk and Sebastian knew that but the idea of the boy waiting on him hand and foot was too good to pass up, whatever punishment followed would be worth it, he hoped.

…..

The next morning Sebastian made his way to his master's room but when he looked into the sheets he was confused to find the boy was not in his bed. The memory of when Ciel sneaked out to the garden passed his mind making him look out the window to see if he saw the bluenette, but there was nothing to be seen.

Once again a small form of panic arouse in him, all the servants were gone already. He would imagine that the guards don't get this day off but he really didn't know. While thinking about it he realized this was probably the perfect time to kidnap the child of an earl.

Sebastian was speeding through the halls looking into all the rooms but to no avail, Ciel wasn't in any of them. As he searched and got close to Vincent's room he saw the door was ajar and found it strange since the couple that inhabited the chamber were gone. He could only think of one person that would want to go in there and when Sebastian went inside his hypostasis was found to be true. In the large bed that belonged to the parents lied Ciel, deep asleep cuddled up to one of the pillows.

The butler wanted to be mad, he wanted to throw his frustrations on the boy for worrying him but when he saw Ciel there, he couldn't. In fact, all those emotions left as he watched Ciel for the moment. Sebastian wondered how often Ciel slept in his parent's room when they left, was it his way of trying to stay close to them? Ciel was so mature for his age and acted much like an adult but it was moments like this that reminded him that he was still just a child…and a very lonely one.

Placing his hand on the youngers shoulder, he gently shook Ciel. "Young master, it is time to get ready."

Unlike all the other times when he woke the boy up, Ciel quickly awoke to Sebastian's voice and sat up almost instantly, he seemed to be mortified that Sebastian caught him in here. It was apparent the bluenette had planned to wake up before Sebastian came for him and go back into his own room, but failed to do so.

Not wanting to pick at Ciel's embarrassment the butler smiled one of his gentle smiles to calm the boy "Master we should get you ready if we plan to sneak out."

That seemed to help because Ciel got up and nodded.

Sebastian spent the next few minutes getting the teen ready, he made sure to dress Ciel in a warm coat that fit the teens body well, London was always quite cold and it being winter made the weather harsh. Once he had slipped and laced Ciel's shoes, the boy got up and lead him back to his room.

"Master why are we in your room, the best way would be to go through the back door to the kitchen."

Ciel ignored him and went to one of the large book shelfs that was placed up against his wall, the boy pulled one of the books out and Sebastian was surprised to find a button was behind it. Just then Ciel pressed it and moved out of the way as the bookshelf opened to a reveal a hidden tunnel. So it was true, there was hidden passages all over this place.

"Where does this tunnel lead to?" He asked the still unamused Ciel

"Its tunnels go underground and about a mile out from the estate, there are hidden passages and tunnels all over the manor. The tunnels were first created by my great grandfather as escape paths but he closed them all up a few years after he created them."

"Why would he spend all that effort on something just to close them off?" honestly an escape path sounded like a good idea for a family like the Phantomhives, maybe if the tunnels were not closed off Ciel would have never got burned back when the estate was attacked.

"His daughter was playing in the tunnels when she got lost, my great grandfather thought the rational thought of her being kidnapped. After a year they found her body in one of the tunnels. In his grief he sealed up all the tunnels and passages but he forgot this one. My father doesn't even know of it, I found it when I was eleven, and used it whenever I wanted to hide from the servants or sneak out."

"Are you not afraid to end up like your father's great aunt?" it was no doubt that if a child had died in the walls that Ciel himself could get lost as well.

"No, I mapped this one out by the time I was twelve." He motioned Sebastian to grab the candles and like an obedient servant he did so along with some extra candles just in case.

Once he lit the them Ciel closed the shelf behind them, Sebastian immediately noticed the stares that went down into the earth and took caution going down each step since they were quite steep, when they finally reached the bottom of the steps two tunnels were able to be seen. Without a thought Ciel choose the one on the left and Sebastian followed trusting the child fully.

Walking through the tunnels was an experience, suddenly it was a lot colder than the winter air, the floor was raw stone along with the walls and you could really see the age they held. Ciel didn't seemed bothered by any of this but to Sebastian it brought back memories of when he was enslaved.

Just like Ciel promised he knew exactly where he was going, there was marking on the walls made by what Sebastian assumed was a younger Ciel from the past, that lead them down the right path. the butler and master kept walking for what felt like a good while and when he looked at the candles it proved just what he was thinking, they were almost out so it had been at least thirty minutes. However, Sebastian didn't have to light anymore candles because Ciel had brought him to a old wooden door and struggled to open it. It seemed the frost from the winter had frozen it shut.

"Here." Sebastian handed the bluenette the candles and went to open the door, it only took a few tugs before it swung open, colder air hitting them causing Ciel to cough when it hit his lungs. Worry struck the butler and he looked at Ciel.

"I'm fine, just didn't expect that is all." The bluenette composed himself and walked through the door with Sebastian close behind his heels.

"Master maybe we should go back." It was unnerving when Ciel coughed.

"Sebastian please, I'm fine."

Sighing Sebastian could only accept his master's stubbornness, he knew the storm that might be unleashed in Ciel if he forced him to go back now. Nodding he followed the boy up some more stone steps that were hidden behind the door. When they got to the top Sebastian was surprised to find he was standing in a fifteenth century room. It looked like it used to be part of a tower but most of the stone walls had deteriorated. Leaving only a frame of what used to be with nature entangled with the structure from the past.

"What was this?" looking around he found that there was even some old ruined furnisher from a time period lost.

"Part of the old manor."

"Are you telling me the estate was even larger than it already is?" it was an unbelievable thought but another thought that was lingering in him was how old this place was, the Phantomhives must have been working for the royal house for far longer than just Ciel's grandfather.

"It was, but it has been attacked several times before even my father was born. So during rebuilding they chose not to keep this tear of the building." The bluenette walked out into the Forrest that surrounded the tower and as always he was right behind the teen after placing the candles down on one of the old pieces of furnisher.

Sebastian followed the boy till he lead him to a side road and to his surprise there waiting on the muddy road was a carriage waiting, did Ciel set this up? When the bluenette noticed his surprise he smirked "What you think my fathers the only one who knows how to pull strings?"

This made Sebastian chuckle, he was a Phantomhive alright, no matter how small.

When they got close enough the butler realized who was the one pulling the carriage, it was the man who had carried out Vincent's punishment of twenty lashed. It was the man who had charcoal black hair and gold eyes.

Immediately Sebastian stiffened, and allowed his eyebrow to twitch as his eyes locked with the golden orbs that belonged to the other man.

"Well look who it is." The man voiced but his face was emotionless.

"What a pleasure…" Sebastian couldn't hold his sarcasm.

Ciel seemed confused "Do you know each other?"

Sebastian said "No" at the exact same time the man said "Yes" irritating him further but luckily the teen brushed it off and opened and entered the carriage without waiting for Sebastian to open the door for him.

"he's so inpatient" Sebastian voiced under his breath then entered the carriage.

It was going to be a long ride.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So first things first:

Servants day is a real thing from Victorian England.

Also just a little fun fact; most servants were female because they were a lot cheaper. Normally for wealthy families only one male servant was placed within the home because they got hire pay.

So families that housed more than one male servant were considered very wealthy.

So just take a moment to think of how many the Phantomhives have?

Alright guys I'll see you next chapter!


	15. Chapter 15: Dark Education

Sorry about the once again super late update, my best friend had asked to borrow my laptop for her collage paper, she doesn't own her own computer and since I just got this expensive one I thought I be a good friend and allow her to use mine. I have never been more than two days late on a chapter so this felt horrible. I was so paranoid you guys would think I dropped this fan fic but that's not the case, I still love this story very much, I promise to finish it.

HOWEVER, I WAS SO PARANOID SHE WOULD READ THIS FANFIC! _

Since it's in my files and I didn't know if she would accidentally open it. She has no idea I write fanfiction.

But enough of that, let's get back into our story.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It indeed was a long trip especially since the weather had been quite bad the days before, making the road muddier than usual. The carriage was prone to becoming lodged so the man with golden eyes had to drive cautiously. Ciel didn't seem to mind, he had watched out the window for most of the ride curious to the outside world that he had probably only seen once or twice before, and the other remainder of the ride went to him sleeping like a lazy cat, which in turn intrigued Sebastian.

Once they had passed the old factory he had worked in Sebastian called to the man to stop the carriage, to which he had scoffed annoyed but complied to Sebastian's wishes. The halt of movement awoke Ciel "Why have we stopped?" The bluenette spoke with lost energy as he tried to adjust his eyes to the light from the day.

Embarrassment took Sebastian, why had he stopped? This place was part of his hell and he had known Adrian chose to leave. If he had gotten the job of undertaker, Sebastian didn't know and other then the mad man there was nothing here for him. The raven haired man thought of his response carefully.

"Good morning Young master."

"Don't ignore my question Sebastian, why have we stopped here?" At that moment Ciel looked out the window to closer examine their surroundings, when he finally recognized the place it seemed the boy recollected a memory "Don't make me repeat my question. We have no business here."

As Sebastian stared at the boy who was gazing out the carriage window trying to understand why he was here, the butler realized that this place may have been his hell, but it was also the place he had first met Ciel. The memory of the bluenette covered in mud, who had just wanted to play with children his age.

"Now, is that anyway to talk to me on servant's day? I believe our agreement was that you would be serving me today, I'm no expert but a good servant never questions his master." A smirk painted Sebastian's lips.

If Ciel could have killed him with a look he would have dropped dead because the boy glared at him with unimaginable amounts of hatred. This made the butler laugh amused.

"I loathe you." The boy spat in his frustration.

"I believe it's quite the contrary."

"Stop playing around, why have you brought us here again?"

"There is a morgue nearby, I would like to visit an old friend." There was no point in sharing with Ciel his feelings over the factory and why he has specifically stopped here, the truth was he had not known himself but if he was here he might as well see if Adrian had truly escaped this place.

"…is that friend deceased?" the sudden shift in Ciel's demeanor suggested he was both shocked and slightly frightened. Sebastian chuckled which in turn caused Ciel to calm and understand he was incorrect.

"No, he was seeking new employment as an Undertaker. I want to check here first however."

Sebastian didn't wait for Ciel's response, he figured if he was really going to play master for the day he might as well take advantage of being able to have the last word. The older male opened the carriage doors and exited it. The golden eyed man called to him "I assume this is not the part of the city you plan on keeping the master?" Sebastian's eyebrow twitched, he had almost forgot this man was there until his deep voice broke the air.

"Claude it's okay." Ciel stepped out of the carriage following in Sebastian's footsteps, to the butlers surprise the boy didn't seem annoyed anymore about being here, or even having his earlier conversation abruptly ended by Sebastian exiting.

The man named Claude stepped down from the carriage to join them, it had seemed he didn't trust Sebastian bringing his master here but to that the butler didn't care, this man was unimportant. Sebastian made his way inside and was immediately welcomed by the children of the factory running up to him excitedly causing Ciel to have to step away so that he wouldn't be trampled by the river of children his age fussing over the bluenette's butler. As Sebastian greeted them all he noticed what a difference there was between these children and Ciel, while the boy stared at them slightly amazed at his popularity.

It was almost like Ciel was an adult trapped in a child's body, he could never imagine seeing the bluenette run up to anyone like these children did, or how they joked with each other about childish things such as cards and gossip, the boy would much rather speak of serious matters. As he thought further the idea of Ciel being an old soul found its way back into his mind.

When the children finally dispersed to go back their jobs as to not get in trouble, a blonde boy walked to them. Ciel remembered him as the boy that pushed him causing an immediate glare from the bluenette.

"You looking for Adrian?" the blonde boy spoke ignoring Ciel completely.

"Yes, is he still here?"

"No, he left just like you. I figured he also jumped in front of a carriage for someone who didn't deserve it and got a job at some fancy mansion." Alois crossed his arms with a hateful expression it was then that Sebastian noticed the boys right arm was wrapped up seeming to be from an injury.

He sighed "Alois don't be hateful."

At that the blonde boy let his gaze fall to Ciel "How about you give me a job? Or would I have to sleep with someone in your family? Your father looked lonely." Alois smirked and Ciel's lip twitched in anger not letting his multicolored eyes leave the lighter blue ones.

Sebastian was about to yell at the teen for his rudeness but was beat to it by deep voice "Alois that's enough!" the voice belonged to the man that owned the factory and it instantly silenced Alois, the boy submitted knowing full well he was going to be punished harshly later. As the man walked up to the group the owner ignored everyone except for Ciel "Hello young Phantomhive, may I ask why you have come here?" It annoyed Sebastian to see this man act so different to Ciel then he did with every other child that worked here. In Sebastian's memories the owner was always yelling he hated children yet here he was talking sweetly to a child but Sebastian knew why, this child was dipped in gold.

"I'm in search for a previous worker you housed here, he went by the name Adrian." Ciel responded surprising his butler, he didn't expect the bluenette to participating with his search.

"Adrian?"

Sebastian suddenly spoke up "Long white hair, green eyes, scar across face. Ring any bells? He worked here for six years." It annoyed him that the owner couldn't remember them by name.

"Oh yes, the crazy one. He left here to work as an Undertaker."

Just as Sebastian had thought, now all he had to do was find out which funeral parlor he worked at, assuming Adrian stayed in the area he could be working at the one down the road and that would be most convenient for the butler.

Uninterested in the conversation the owner directed his question to Ciel "Will your father be visiting again anytime soon? I had discussed with him a possible donation, he said it was in the air."

"When my father says that it usually means he's going to make you the source of amusement for his business partners as they smoke cigars and play pool." The man stood in silent embarrassment and anger as he imagined Vincent laughing with other wealthy men over his proposal.

Sebastian smirked, there was something very attractive to Ciel's wit and cruelty.

"Well if that is all then we shall take our leave." The bluenette turned and began to walk out of the factory, Sebastian and Claude followed but once outside the boy turned to the golden eyed male. "Claude find us a room somewhere near by while I accompany Sebastian to seek out his friend."

"Young master I'd rather not leave you in this part of town with just him." Claude looked to Sebastian then back at his small master.

"You will do as I say." There was a sternness in Ciel that even took Sebastian by surprise.

Claude stared at the boy for a moment then nodded his head and took his leave. Once the two were alone Sebastian wasted no time, he began to walk to the closest funeral parlor which was only about a block down with the frail boy following him.

"Would you be okay going into the morgue?" Sebastian voice his concerns.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ciel seemed unamused, but maybe he was hiding something underneath that. Right now there was no way for Sebastian to tell.

"It's a place full of death."

"I'm not afraid of Death Sebastian, are you?"

"When he threatens those I love, yes."

Just then they had made it to the funeral parlor, the structure looked withered with age, the old rotten wood gave the place more of a gloomy feel then it already had. It was also without windows, that was most likely the case so curious bystanders couldn't look inside to watch the deceased. Sebastian slowly opened the door and made his way inside with the boy close behind him. It seemed no one was here, there was caskets lining the walls some extravagant with designs and gold, some plain with hardly a thought placed into them. there was candles to dimly light the room but because of the lack of windows it wasn't much help. On the wall directly in front of the two was a cabinet and shelves holding many various tools and equipment for working with the bodies, along with bottles of strange brown/yellow liquid. Sebastian assumed embalming fluid or formaldehyde from the smell of the place, in the middle of the room was the naked body of a young boy with his eyes half open glazed over from death, who couldn't have been much older than Ciel.

The deceased boy had chocolate brown hair and freckles along his cheeks and nose, his skin was no longer a normal color but a sickly gray and with death taking the color of his eyes Sebastian was no longer able to say what color they had been in life. The chest of the deceased had large thick gash from its navel to neck that was closed with thick stitches holding the skin together. When he glanced at Ciel to see his reaction to the dead body he found that the boy was staring intensely at the deceased child but once again he couldn't read what Ciel must have been thinking but before he could ask Adrian came in the room holding some odd looking tools from what looked like an extra storage room. When the mad man noticed Sebastian's presence a large grin painted his face.

"I hope you're not here because you need me to embalm someone."

Sebastian let a smile escape him "You seem to have obtained your dream profession."

"Yes, and it is all it's cracked up to be. hehe~" the white haired man laughed. "I see you brought a small Phantomhive with you."

"Yes, it seems to have lost its way and latched on to me like a lost puppy. You know what they say, never feed strays." The jest didn't amuse Ciel however and the child smacked his arm in annoyance causing the butler to chuckle.

The Undertaker however appreciated his humor and let out a strong laugh that rocked the room. "I see you two have grown close." Adrian placed the equipment he was holding down on the table the deceased child was laying and went to pull a casket out. "Sit. Sit." The mad man pointed to the closed wooden box he had just pulled from one of the stacks. Ciel seemed turned off to the idea of sitting on the casket and stood in silence to the side, until Sebastian calmly sat down and gently patted the wood of the casket to easy the boy over. It seemed to work because the bluenette hesitantly sat down.

"What do I owe the pleasure?" The undertaker walked back over to the body and pulled a needle that already had thread tied to it out from a drawer. He began to sew the deceased boy's eyes shut from the inside flesh so that the thread would not be seen on the outside of the eyelids. Ciel gave a disgusted expression but continued to watch.

"No reason, just wanted to visit an old friend, however is it necessary for you to work on that child now?"

"Well you see." The mad man finished one eye and went to the next "Bodies are extremely fickle, if you don't give them attention they like to rot. Hehe~"

"What did this one die of?" Ciel spoke and it surprised the undertaker who didn't expect the child had much of a voice.

"Scarlet fever, it would seem." He has finished sewing the second eye shut and Sebastian couldn't help but notice how well the mad man had hidden the thread, it now looked as if the child was sleeping.

"How sad you two showed up at the end of my process, I would have been excited to have an audience."

Sebastian began to speak "I don't think that wou-" when Ciel cut him off "What is your process?"

The question from the boy stunned both the Undertaker and Sebastian, it was strange to see Ciel so curious about what happens to the body after death, Sebastian wondered why it was something the child wanted to know, the bluenette seemed grossed out by it a moment ago and it was never a topic Ciel ever brought up before.

After thinking for a moment the undertaker finally spoke "well, first I drain the blood from the body." He grabbed a tube that was connected to a weird machine and held it up to show the boy "I first stab this into your carotid artery and it sucks the blood out and replaces it with embalming fluid.

Then I cut open the chest and pry the ribs open with this." He then held up rib shears "Normally I take out organs that rot the fastest and clean out the intestines then sew it all shut, there is no reason to make the stitches on the chest clean because it will be hidden by the clothes. If for some reason I don't need to remove organs or clean out the intestine, I have a simple way to remove the gases in the stomach." Adrian excitedly grabbed a hollow metal rod with a sharp end "I get to stab the stomach with this to release the air, it's not something for the weak of heart because normally the body will react by suddenly jolting up in a sitting position.

Last I sew the eyes and jaw shut. Then apply makeup to try and bring back natural colors in the skin" Adrian looked down at the dead boy "It's quite lucky he's getting treated so kindly after death, normally we don't embalm any of the bodies unless they are head of estates, or bodies used for dissection as cadavers. Those who are not embalmed start to smell really bad after the first day"

"Why was this boy an exception" Ciel Questioned

The Undertaker grinned "Practice makes perfect.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This chapter is a bit dark…LIKE MY SOUL.

Anyways once again it is true that bodies were not normally embalmed in the 1800s, unless they were someone of importance, a deceased soldier coming back from the battle field, or a person being prepared to become a cadaver for medical anatomist.


	16. Chapter 16: Paths Once Crossed

As the Undertaker finished up on the deceased child by applying makeup to make him look less gray Sebastian caught up with him

"You got your dream job, all you need now is company. when are you going to look for a lady?" he jested and Adrian let a grin paint his face.

"I already found the perfect one." Sebastian found himself in shock, he never expected Adrian to fall in love…or more accurately, for a woman to love him back. Adrian was Handsome under all that hair; he could make anyone blush just by a glance however his personality turned everyone away. The man was truly something unique.

"You have? Who?"

the white haired man pointed to the coffin they were sitting on. "You're sitting on her."

Both Ciel and Sebastian quickly shot up startled.

"There was a body in here the whole time!?" the bluenette exclaimed with both fear and anger in his voice.

Just then the mad man broke out in Laughter over both the boy's and Sebastian's reaction.

"She was quite lovely even death couldn't steal her beauty."

"Please tell me you didn't…" the idea of Adrian being a necrophiliac disgusted Sebastian, he knew his friend was ill in the head however he hoped he wasn't as bad as to sleep with the dead.

"Oh no, I only danced with her. It be rude of me to make advances without her consent. Hehe~"

A sigh of relief escaped the butler and soon he noticed Ciel had left his side, most likely to avoid any more unwanted conversations with the Undertaker. When he gazed around the room he found the boy was looking at shelfs that housed jars with various preserved body parts encased in formaldehyde. In each jar was a different sight to see; in one a child that was not past a day old, in another a human heart, then the human brain, and lastly lungs and a liver, all were too small to be from a full grown adult. Sebastian wondered why he hadn't noticed these before considering they really added to the eerie feeling this place held. Maybe he hadn't because the brown haired deceased child had taken all his attention, looking at the jars now however, Sebastian found himself wondering who those organs belonged to. What child was murdered for those to be here on display? it seemed Ciel was wondering the same thing by how intensely he was studying each jar.

"Did you go to the factory?" Adrian's voice broke the silence causing Sebastian to look in his direction.

"Yes, I originally looked for you there."

"How was Alois? He's been quite upset about being left behind."

"We were never quite close, his attitude used to repulse me."

"I finally got to talking to him after you had left, he's not a bad kid. Been through a lot like we have."

"I'm sure…" Sebastian looked over at Ciel once again who was now analyzing equipment the undertaker used for handling bodies. The bluenette picked up a tube and looked it over, when he realized there was some unidentified chunks of a reddish black substance inside he immediately dropped it. Sebastian fought the urge to laugh.

"We should get going, I wouldn't want him to spend his first free day out at a morgue. If you find time Adrian, you should come visit me at the Phantomhive manor. I'm sure I could get permission somehow."

The mad man only grinned and bowed in a fancy manner causing the butler to smile. After he walked to Ciel "Ready to see the rest of the city?"

"As long as you promise everyone will be living."

"I give you my word." Sebastian lead the boy out, Ciel looked behind him as he walked, taking one last glance at the dead child who was nameless.

….

Sebastian had taken Ciel into the west end allowing the child to walk around shops and museums, he found the bluenette was very antisocial but that was to be expected from someone who hardly had human interaction besides his parents and a few servants. Ciel especially didn't like it if someone accidently brushed up beside him. if the child could have been born anything but human it was easy to say he would have been a cat.

When they came across a huge toy store that was decorated with ribbon and lace along the windows Sebastian found Ciel had stopped, he was about to question the child until he glanced up and saw the sign that was above the door. The sign was unlike any other, it was engraved in heavy oak wood and painted to be a deep red and gold. The name on the sign said "Funtom Toys" with two engraved horses on each side. Sebastian made the conclusion that this was the toy company the Phantomhives owned, it would explain the name which he found to be creative. The place seemed quite popular, children flocked to the place pulling their mothers and begging for toys. The more unfortunate children peeking their heads into the windows and dreaming of the toys they will never have.

"It seems your parents don't present anything unless it's beyond any other."

"This is mostly my mother and Tanaka's work, some of the toys inside I designed when I was younger. My father is too busy to worry about a toy store but he won't dispose of it since it serves as a distraction to the public. To them it's the source of our riches."

It was genius to have a child design children's toys, Sebastian wondered what kinds of toys Ciel had created but chose not to ask since the boy seemed to be somewhere else in his own mind. it was also smart of the Phantomhives to create a toy store to hide the darkness that lied under their wealth.

"Shall we go inside?" it was a question he already knew the answer to, Ciel nodded and the two made their way inside. It was unlike anything Sebastian had ever seen, the walls were painted in a royal blue and silk fabric hung from the ceilings to the walls to create an almost childlike blanket fort, in the middle of the room all the fabric came together where a chandelier hung from it. On various displays throughout the room was toys, each one was different to the other and so well made that it was almost unbelievable that they were created from human hands. The materials used on the stuffed toys was rich with silk bows and lace. The furry creatures even had small real top hats and perfectly seamed vests, the price of one was something the butler would have to work a year to afford. Toys that were made from wood looked to be carved from talented craftsmen and painted in bright greens and reds. Red and green paint where favorable amongst the wealthy since the pigment was harder to obtain causing it to be more expensive. There was no doubt however that the colors were enjoyable to look at, the vibrant colors danced with each shine of light in the bright toy store.

Ciel didn't seem to desire any of the creations, it suddenly seems as if he was here on business. He inspected the displays and looked over the toys craft to make sure everything was the way it should be.

"Which toys did you design?"

The bluenette looked up from a toy horse he was looking at and thought for a moment as he looked around the room. When he found what he was looking for the child pointed to a stuffed bear that had a monocle sewed perfectly over one of its eyes, a crimson vest clothed the stuffed bear and it had stitching in silver of Japanese sakura flowers. The more the older male looked at it the more the bear looked like Tanaka.

It was adorable.

"That's the only one that's still continued." Ciel's voice pulled his gaze back onto the teen.

"Your parents discontinued your previous creations?"

"No, I did."

Sebastian's brows furrowed in confusion as he tried to wrap his mind over the idea of Ciel discontinuing his own creations. Did he not like them anymore?

"May I ask why stopped your products?" as he waited for Ciel's response the butler picked up the bear to examine it further. It was soft, made of velvet and silk. It was easy to imagine a child cuddled up to the bear at night.

"I normally release one product a year in limited numbers, we place it on shelves for a month and then it becomes discontinued. I do this because they become rare, meaning more people will flock to buy them. if you notice the bear is notably different from everything else in the store, it seems more mature and-"

"Sad." Sebastian finished the bluenette's sentence, now that he had gotten a closer look at the creation he could see the eyes held a secret. Something that hurt. Unlike other stuffed creatures in the store who bore smiles with shining eyes. The bear had dull eyes and the mouth stitching's were pointed downward. When Sabastian placed the bear back and locked eyes with Ciel he noticed disbelief in the child's eyes, not of him but of what he had found. With just that single look the butler knew he was right, Ciel was portraying his emotions into his creations and he didn't expect anyone to see through it. Sebastian must have been the first to have noticed considering the bluenette's shock. However, Ciel quickly composed himself.

"Don't be absurd Sebastian, its merely a business tactic."

With that the child walked past him and out of the store all together not wanting to talk of it further. Sebastian knew not to push subjects that were sore to Ciel and this happened to be one of them. Normally if they were back at the manor he would let the bluenette be on his own for a little to collect his thoughts however, in the city that wasn't an option. It was dangerous to leave Ciel alone here.

As he followed Ciel through the city the child seemed to relax more and once again was looking at things in wonder, as they neared a particular road the boy stopped and looked to him. "This is where you pulled me out of the way of that carriage." When Sebastian looked around he noticed Ciel was right, this was indeed the place where he had saved the child from death. If by any reason Sebastian was not here that moment he would not be standing here once again next to the boy in his black suit and coat, he would instead be working hard shifts watching children die and Ciel,

Ciel would six feet under the earth.

"It's strange to think that because of that I met you, I'm almost grateful to death for coming after you and to fate for placing me just close enough to intervene."

Ciel let a gentle smile soften his features.

"I noticed you had a book in your hands when you crossed, it was the source of your distraction and I'm quite curious what piece of literature was almost the cause of your death."

Ciel chuckled "It was Sherlock Holmes."

"That is most fitting."

…

The two walked around for what had felt like hours and it was obvious Ciel's feet were starting to cause him discomfort. It was time to retire and when he voiced his opinion to the bluenette he was relieved to receive a nod from the child in silent agreement.

They walked back to where they would find Claude passing by people who were walking the roads just like they were, in the distance Sebastian noticed an eerie man walking toward them, he made Sebastian feel uncomfortable; he was wearing a heavy black hooded cloak making it difficult to see his face, all that was seen was the man's jaw that was narrow much like Sebastian's and long black hair peeked out from under the cloak. As the man got closer something in Sebastian was telling him something was gravely wrong.

As the cloaked man became closer Sebastian started to feel a chill in his spine and he found that he was walking much closer to Ciel who seemed oblivious. Something inside him was screaming at him to protect the boy. To grab him and run, however logic told him this man was just like all others and would walk past them ignoring the two altogether.

But Sebastian was wrong, once the man was in front of them he quickly leaned in close to Ciel and blew into the child's face. Ciel immediately reacted by flinching then looking at the man in disgust. Naturally the bluenette was about the spout all sorts of hateful comments but the cloaked man spoke first. His voice like knifes, it made everything else quiet almost like nothing else existed except them three. It silenced Ciel.

"I have marked you and he shall come looking.

You are the good that turns evil to your light, however you see not the havoc you have created.

How is it that your paths have crossed once again?"

Without realizing it Sebastian tried to grab the man, his intentions where to slam him up against the building closest to them and demand an answer for his madness but to the butler's horror, when he grabbed the man he found that the cloak was empty, devoid of any living thing. Whoever was just in the fabric was no longer there leaving nothing but a hallow limp cloak in his hands.

Fear took him. Despite his eyes protest Sebastian gazed around. Turning his body in every direction to search for the man, it couldn't of been that he had just disappeared. That's impossible isn't it? This had to have been a trick, the work of a skilled illusionist. When he finally looked at Ciel the boy seemed just as frightened having witnessed the whole thing.

"Ciel are you okay?"

"…I'm fine, how did he do that?...how did he just disappear?"

It was something Sebastian couldn't answer, he gazed at the cloak one last time before dropping it.

"I'm guessing he was an illusionist just trying to jest with us."

Sebastian gave Ciel a gentle smile in an attempt to calm the child by showing him he was confident in his conclusion, it seemed to have worked and the bluenette calmed however Sebastian couldn't help repeat in his head the words the man spoke. What did he mean by marking Ciel? and who was coming for him?

Anxieties loomed over the butler's heart as he thought over the possibilities over the meanings of the cloaked man's words. It could be that he was a cult leader that was angered by something the Phantomhives had done, Ciel was indeed a good person and soon when he took over for his father evil shall follow him. Was that what he had meant?

Maybe this man lost someone he loved to one of Vincent's assignments, the Phantomhives caused havoc within his life so he tried to curse Ciel…if that was the case then whatever he had blown into the child's face could very well have been a poison, but if he blew it from his mouth it would mean the man would have poisoned himself as well. The idea panicked him and he hoped it was just a mad man who thought he could cast spells.

"Ciel, did you feel anything strange when he blew into your face?" his words came out faster than he had intended.

The child looked at him in small amounts of confusion, it seemed Ciel was not pondering over the same things he was. "Uh, no it just felt like wind."

"Did it smell like anything?" his tone was serious now

"No, his breath had no scent."

It didn't sound like he blew a poison into Ciel's face, if he had the boy's eyes would have started to burn and he would have been able to feel the powder in his nose. However, Sebastian didn't know if any sort of advanced poison existed. To his knowledge most that were poisoned this way felt the effects immediately. To be safe he chose have a doctor take a look at the bluenette, it shouldn't be hard to find one in the city but it would be hard explaining the situation and who Ciel was. He would have to fake the child's identity but that was a worry for when the time came. Right now he just wanted to make sure Ciel was okay.

"Sebastian what do you think he had meant by "our paths crossed once again"?"

The boy was serious and seemed to have been trying to piece that part of the puzzle in his mind the whole time Sebastian was panicking about the bluenette's health. He sighed, the boy ignored his health and was more curious about the meaning behind the words.

"I don't know, we need to find you a doctor." Honestly right now he didn't much care about the cloaked man's words but rather the Ciel's health.

"No. I told you I'm fine."

"You are my servant today remember? My word is law." With that Sebastian lead the younger male in the direction of a possible doctor nearby.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay I know I apologize a lot but….im sorry for another late chapter. I have been so busy helping my best friend get through college. I'll be back on schedule soon, please stay with me through the process.

See you all next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17: Death Crow

"Nope, seems everything is fine, just like the first time I said it." A man with gray hair and tired from age eyes who was wearing a white coat finished examining the blue haired child, Sebastian had found this man who happened to be a house doctor on one of his calls walking the street. It was a turn of luck for him because the doctor didn't turn them away and guided them back to his home which was only a few houses down. He had examined Ciel's throat, eyes, mouth, and nose for any signs of irritation when he had finished with that Sebastian was adequate on making sure the man checked him again. And so here they were, after the second checkup.

"Is there anyway a poison would be undetectable?"

The old man sighed, it seemed he had gone through this a hundred times over with Sebastian however the butler could care less of his annoyance. Ciel was more important.

"No, there is no such thing as of yet, I fear the poison you speak of is only known as your own anxiety; this child is in perfect health despite some minor issues that are unrelated to your scare."

"See Sebastian? I'm fine, now can we please take our leave?"

Suddenly the raven haired man felt bad for keeping Ciel here to go through yet another doctor visit, he knew the boy hated these. He helped the bluenette up and placed his hand over his heart apologetically.

"Forgive me for ruining your first free day here."

Ciel looked him over almost studying him before he spoke "Its fine, I sort of liked today. I learned a great deal."

Sebastian turned to the doctor and handed him a few pounds to thank him for his service, he was also grateful the man never questioned who Ciel was or even why he was checking the child for poison. Sebastian could only assume the man was just tired and wanted to retire for the day. More questions meant more time he wasn't willing to spare.

Once that was handled he set his gaze on Ciel who looked terribly tired, it had grown dark outside and the day had been very eventful, in one motion Sebastian leaned down and picked the boy up bridal style causing the bluenette to blush in embarrassment.

"What are you doing?!" Ciel demanded

"After the events of today I assumed you were too tired to walk all the way back, however if you feel you can walk ill place you back down." The boys silence made him smirk, they both knew he was tired and that he didn't want to walk but his pride wouldn't allow him to voice it.

Sebastian proceeded to walk toward the inn that Claude had arranged for them, whether the taller man was there or not he did not know but secretly hoped he wasn't. As he walked he could feel Ciel breathing; they were gentle breaths and when Sebastian looked down to see the boy's face a gentle smile curved his lips. Ciel had fallen asleep.

He walked gently to not wake the bluenette till he made it to the inn, it wasn't anything fancy and that's just what he needed. No one would recognize Ciel here, most knew Vincent's face but hardly anyone knew his sons unless they were of high birth and attended one of Vincent's balls. For once Sebastian found himself grateful to the father for keeping his child locked away. When he made his way inside Claude was nowhere to be seen, but that was all the better. The inn keeper immediately showed them to their room. Sebastian supposed Claude had described what they looked like so that he could give them the room. Once inside the inn keeper closed the door and left. The room wasn't anything Ciel would be used to but to him it was much nicer than anyplace he had stayed before he worked at the Phantomhive manor. The walls and floor where made from the same wood, there was a small window that out looked to a few pubs and shops. An empty chest was pressed to one of the walls and next to it a bed. One bed.

A sigh escaped him, Claude probably did this to spite him. they both knew that the young master would get the bed and he would have to sleep on the floor. It was apparent that Sebastian and Claude where going to be at each other's throats from here on forward.

Sebastian walked to the bed and gently placed Ciel onto it, the boy fussed a bit in his slumber but did not wake. The older male chuckled and proceeded to slip off his master's shoes then covered him.

It was going to be a long night for Sebastian so he took off his coat to use as a pillow and laid down on the floor next to the bed Ciel was sound asleep on. It took him awhile but he finally fell asleep and soon his dreams took him.

…

The air was thinner, and all that surrounded him was a black Forrest full of black barked trees with crimson leaves, the trees cried blood the way they normally seeped sap. As Sebastian walked deeper and deeper into the Forrest he found it odd that there were no signs of life. Not even a sound, the silence was maddening. Suddenly he heard a sound that broke the silence and when he pointed his gaze to it Sebastian found a black as death crow with blood red eyes staring at him.

No words were shared, just silent starring from him to the crow until Sebastian's eyes opened and he found himself still laying on the floor. Something about that dream made him feel uneasy and when he attempted to shift himself into a more comfortable position he realized he couldn't because of a weight on his arm and chest. Looking to the source he found Ciel was laying with him on the cold floor, cuddled into his chest much like a kitten. "did he fall?" analyzing the bed it was easy to tell that the boy did not fall out but rather woke up in the middle of the night and took his blanket to join the butler on the floor. A gently smile escaped him and he pulled the younger male closer to him lovingly, Ciel who was still asleep didn't protest and in response cuddled into him until the unnatural eyes he possessed slowly opened.

Embarrassment took Ciel as he looked up to the man who was holding him in his previous slumber. He shifted in his humiliation but Sebastian gently tightened his grip.

"It's okay young master, don't be embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? I'm not embarrassed….I must of fell off the bed." God he was so stubborn in his pride.

"Is that so?" the older male's brow lifted in amusement.

"What were you even doing on the floor in the first place?"

"There was only one bed and It's not my place to climb into bed with you."

"…I See."

Sebastian was about to sit up but to his surprised the Ciel laid his head on his chest showing he was still wanting to be held so Sebastian complied and held the boy.

"You know..." the boy with two different color eyes spoke, breaking the silence. "Next time, you may lie in bed with me. If there's only one, I mean." As he said this he kept his gaze off Sebastian, still showing his discomfort in his kindness. The older male couldn't help but smirk. Suddenly he desired to be in a bed with the boy but he held back his urge's.

"I had a strange dream Sebastian."

"Oh? What was it about?"

"I was in this room, it was a Dark room and I Couldn't much see anything around me. When I started to walk to the center of it I found a pool of blood on the stoned floor, and standing in the middle of it was a crow. A Black Crow and it did nothing but stare at me."

Sebastian's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand how he and the boy both dreamt of a staring crow, this wasn't real was it? How could they share a dream?

"A crow?"

"Yeah, it was quite odd."

Silence took Sebastian as he chose not to tell Ciel he shared the dream, there was no reason to startle the boy anymore then he probably already was from yesterday's events however he did want to speak to someone later that might know what was happening. The question was who? Adrian was mad but not a psychic, and no one in the Phantomhive manor could even know that they took a day in London.

"What's on the list for today?" the child's voice broke him out of his thoughts once again from the sudden shift in conversation and he looked down to meet the mismatched eyes.

"Whatever you wish my lord."

"Anything's fine, as long as no one blows in my face again."

A dark chuckle escaped Sebastian "The city is full of creeps my lord; you were fortunate it was just a mad man who you encountered."

"I'm sure, but what do I have to be afraid of with you by my side." Ciel then started to stand up but suddenly lost his balance and fell back, in swift movement Sebastian quickly moved to catch the boy.

"Master are you okay?" Ciel was holding his head with one of his hand while the other held on to Sebastian for support.

"Master?"

"I'm fine…just Dizzy."

"Are you sure?" the butler's expression was painted with concern but Ciel brushed it off.

"I don't have much time Sebastian, let's make today count."

With a sigh Sebastian could do nothing but nod and agree to the boy. That day he had took Ciel to countless book stores, shops and to see the Thames river, Along with other sight-seeing architecture like the Elizabeth tower. He even timed it perfectly so that the bell inside would toll over the city right when they got there, his favorite part of the trip was when it started to snow, even though it was cold Ciel really seemed to love the way the city looked in the white fluff. Truly a child born in winter.

The day ended with Claude preparing the carriage so that the three of them could start their long journey back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Life man…life.

Anyways here's a little fun fact that most of you probably already know but I'm going to throw it out there anyways.

Big Ben is not the tower but actually the name of the bell inside. The tower it is encased in is called Elizabeth tower but now-a-days locals in London just call it "the tower"

This chapter was quite short but its only because I felt that the next part needed to be a fresh chapter otherwise it wouldn't have meshed up well.

Ciel is going to start growing ill from here on out so….you have been warned.

Like always thank you for sticking with me even when I take a long while to update. I truly love this story and I always want to update as fast as I can but life is well…life.

Ive been planning a trip to Arizona and there has also been family troubles keeping me away. (nothing serious no worries!)

See you all next time!


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